Man-Made Landscape: Prepared in Cooperation With the International Federation of Landscape Architects (Museums and Monuments, 16)

museums and monuments XVI

The man-made landscape

museums and monuments

XVI

Titlesin this series: I

Sites and monuments :problems of today. IOO pages, 1 1 5 illustrations,plans,index,2nd ed.,1953 (bilingual), out of print.

I1

The care of paintings.

I11

IV V

164pages,87 illustrations,diagrams,index,2nd ed.,1952 (bilingual), out of print. Cuzco :reconstruction of the town and restoration of its monuments. 64 illustrationsand maps, 1952 (also in French and Spanish), out of print. Saint Sophia of Ochrida : preservation and restoration of the building and its frescoes. 2 8 pages, 37 illustrations and maps, 1953 (also in French), out of print. Manual of travelling exhibitions. 1 1 2 pages, 18 diagrams,70 illustrations,1953 (also in French), out of print, see number X

below. VI VI1 VI11

Ix X XI

Lebanon :suggestionsfor the plan of Tripoli and for the surroundings of the Baalbeck Acropolis. 48 pages, I map,7 diagrams,44 illustrations, 1934 (outof print). Syria :problems of preservation and presentation of sites and monuments. 52 pages,GI illustrations, 3 maps,1954 (also in French and Arabic), out of print. Protection of culturalproperty in the event of armed conflict. 346 pages, 124 figures,137 illustrations,1958 (French edition is out of print). The organtration of museums :practical advice. 188 pages,18 figures,8 tables,91 illustrations, 1959 (also in French). Temporary and travelling exhibitions. 123 pages, 23 figures,88 illustrations,1963 (also in French). The conservation of culturalpropero, with special reference to tropical conditions.

Prepared in co-operationwith XI1 XI11

XIV

xv XVI

the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property,Rome, 341 pages,60 figures,43 illustrations,1967 (also in French and Spanish). Field manual for museums. 176 pages,44 figures,3 5 plates (also in French). Underwater archaeology :a nascent discipline. 308 pages,97 figures,67 plates,1972 (also in French). Preserving and restoring monuments and historic buildings. 267 pages, 36 figures,37 plates, 1972 (also in French). Museums, imagination and education. 148 pages,70 plates,1973 (also in French). The man-made landscape. Prepared in co-operationwith theInternationalFederationof LandscapeArchitects,I 78 pages, 8 figures,46 illustrations,1977.

The m a n - m a d e landscape Prepared in co-operationwith the International Federation of Landscape Architects

.

Published in 1 9 7 7 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris Printed by Imprimeries Rtunies S.A.,Lausame

ISBN 92-3-101455-2

0 Unesco 1977 Printed in Switxerland

Contents

7

Foreword

I

9

The atlthors

I1

Introduction

15

by HIROSHI DAIFUKU z

Amsterdam: green spaces for a city on land recovered from the sea

by F. G.BREMAN

3

The urban landscape and

41

the care of trees by

4

A.HOEKSTRA

Utilitarian construction in the man-made landscape-waterways

13

by PETERWHITE 1

Historic gardens ~ Introduction by R E N PECHBRE The European experience

73 71

by M.F.DOWNING Japanese gardens

88

by YOSHINOBU YOSHINAGA

6

Planning landscaping programmes

by GERHARD OLSCHOWY 7

A

reclamation programme-

strip mining by GERHARD OLSCHOWY

I11

8

Regional planning-an example from the United States

127

by HUBERT B. OWENS 9

Landscape reclamation in the United States TUNNARD by CHRISTOPHER

Appendixes I

Trees and the man-made landscape

169

by G.PARLEVLIET t

Trees for urban areas

in the tropics and sub-tropics by

H,R. FUCHS-LEEUWIN

177

List of illustrations

Plates

27.

I. 2.

A terraced ricefield,Bali,Indonesia. (a) The face of Rameses 11.

2 8.

8. 9.

(b) Reassembling the temples of Abu Simbel. Palenque,a classic Maya sitein Mexico. Machu Picchu,Peru. A modern motorway. The sea coast and waste disposal. Production-Neolithic and industrial revolution. Aerial view of polder land in 1936. Aerial view of the same area in 1970. Pony rides in Het Bos. Fishing and boating in Het Bos. (a), (b) Scenes from Amstelland. (a) , (b) Air views-infra-redof Amsterdam showing the condition of trees. Effect of water-loggingon treegrowth. Severn River at Worcester.

IO.

zz. 12.

13.

Garbage... New uses for old buildings. Newhallbranch,Birmingham (before). (a),

3 6.

37.

J 899. 40.

(b) Newhall branch,after

and detail. 20.

A thermal power station along a canal.

Storm water discharge. 22. Patterns in brick. 23. The Engine Arm AqueductSmethwick. 24. (a) The Romantic period in England, 2I.

' Praeneste' .

2J. 2 6.

(b) Stourhead. Vaux-le-Vicomte. Chenonceaux in the Loire Valley.

.'4 42.

Versailles. The PowerscourtDemesne, Enniskerry. Model of a shinden palace and garden. Natural formations along the seacoast of Japan. The Kinkakuji or Roku-onjitemple. The Ryoanji temple garden. The garden of the Shugakuin Imperial Villa. (a), (b) The Unesco garden. (U) A modern cutter wheel excavator used in strip mining. (b) A strip mine in the Rhineland. (a) Reclamation and agricultural development. (b) Reclamation and landscape development in the Rhineland. Eroded land in the Tennessee Valley in the 1930s. The I937 flood in Paducah,Kentucky. The Hiwassee Dam in North Carolina. (a) River transport in the 1930s. (b) Modern barge 'tows' in the TVA system. Coal-fuelledelectric generating plant. (a) Conditions prior to rural electrification. (b) Installing power lines. Contemporary farming scene. Fishing and afforestation. Atlanta,symbol of the new South. (a) Pastureland from reclaimed strip mining. (b) Afforestation of strip-minedland.

List of illustrations

Figzlres I. Man-hours reduced through new techniques. 2. Use of multispectral sensing equipment. 3. Eighteenth-century map of Birmingham.

8

4. (a), (b) Lignite area of the Rhineland. 5. Reclamation of farm land. 6. The Southern United States. 7. (a), (b) The TVA system of dams.

Foreword

The term ‘landscape’refers to the surface of the earth, a surface which is constantly subject to change from natural forces such as climatic seasonal changes, erosional effects of wind and water, the growth of vegetation, changes in faunal associations.. . the list is endless and the interplay of all these forces is highly complex. In addition, the increasingly important effects of man, his way of life and his machines affect not only the natural landscape, but the area of the man-made landscape formed by the extractive industries and the construction of buildings, highways, dams-a list which is impressively long is increasingly affecting &~~FsE& landscape. The constructionof a dam and the introduction of irrigation agriculture may cause a desert to bloom. Conversely,the agricultural practices followed may cause a rise in the heavily saline water-table resulting in waterlogging and salinization so that vegetation disappears, the fields are abandoned and ironically the desert area is expanded.A concrete highway may cut through forest lands and the change in the environment may condemn a local specialized species of plant to extinction.A covered bridge con-

structed during the eighteenth century may recall a more leisurely period, its replacement by a new concrete bridge, widened to admit heavier automobile traffic may not only destroy associations with the past, but also contribute to increased motor traffic; as a consequence, the exhaust fumes may affect the surrounding vegetation and other social changes in nearby towns be accelerated. The discussion which follows attempts to review some of the consequences of change, the need for conservation and necessity of encouraging programmes which would contribute to the well-being lh§

A; it has

already been the subject of studies on the environment and the biosphere, the natural landscape is touched upon, but the main concentration is upon the man-made landscape. Many of the chapters which are included in this publication were prepared with the collaboration of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), a non-governmental organization affiliated with Unesco. Opinions and views expressed are, of course,those of the authors.

9

The authors

BREMAN,Floris Gerard Studied horticulture and landscape architecture at Boskoop and forestry and general management at L4rnhem(Netherlands); Executive officer, Amsterdam, in charge of Forest Park of Amsterdam (1936-50); Deputy Head of Parks Department, Amsterdam (1950-56); Head of Parks Department, Amsterdam (I 95 6-74) ; Treasurer,IFLA (1964-67); Secretary of IFLA (1967-73); ChargC de Mission, IFLA (1973-76); President of IFLA (1976-).

1965; lecturer in landscape design, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (196j-); publications : Landscape Constrtlction, joint author of Landscape Reclamation and Landscape Reclamation Practice, and articles in specialized journals.

HOEKSTRA, A. Botanist, graduate of Frederiksoord (Agricultural and Horticultural Polytechnical School) (Netherlands), Chief Executive of the Amsterdam Park Department and Coordinator of Research.

DAIFUKU,Hiroshi

B.A.,University

of Hawaii (1942); Ph.D., Harvard University (195I); Instructor,cultural anthropology, University of Wisconsin (1949-52); Assistant Curator, State Historical Society Museum, Madison, Wisconsin (1952-5 3); Unesco, Programme Specialist, Development of Museums (1954-62); Preservation of Cultural Property (1962-66); Chief, Monuments and Sites Section (I 967-).

DOWLING, Michael F. M.Sc. (Newcastle); advanced diploma in landscape architecture (Reading), FILA (United Kingdom) Landscape architect with Essex County Council Planning Department, Basildon New Town Development Corporation and City of Newcastle upon Tyne Architects Department until

OLSCHOWY, Gerhard Studies in landscape design at the University of Berlin and the Technical University of Munich; completed Master’s thesis (diplom a in engineering) (1949);doctoratein horticulture in the University of Hanover (1955). Scientific associate at the Institute of Applied Phytosociology in Weihenstephan (near Munich) and Chief of Division for Landscape Management, Federal Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry (1964-); Director of Federal Research Centre for Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology as well as lecturer for landscape management and Honorary Professor, University of Bonn.

I1

The authors

OWENS, Hubert B. B.S.A., M.A. (University of Georgia). LLD,Clemson University;Instructor Berry College, Rome, Georgia (United States) (1926-28); established and developed programme in professional landscape architecture, University of Georgia (1928); Served as Adjunct Professor, Department Head, Professor and Division Chairman (1928-69); Dean, School of Environmental Design (1969-73); Emeritus since 1973; American Society of Landscape Architects : Fellow (1955), Secretary (1955-59), President (1965-67);InternationalFederation of Landscape Architects : ASLA Delegate (1954-bo), Honorable Secretary (1956-63), Vice-president (I 963-74), President (1974-76). First landscape architect, Georgia Highway Department (1936-38); Member United States Department of Commerce Citizens Advisory Committee on Highway Beautification (1965-67); Royal Art Society (196c-); Trustee Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation(1971-);author;lecturer.

G. PARLEVLIET, Studied landscape architecture,Agriculture University of Wageningen (Netherlands), while working at several different offices in landscape architecture and planning (1960-69). Assistant Professor,Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Wageningen (I 971-). PECH~RE, RenC

I2

Diploma, L'gcole de l'Horticulture de l'atat, Vilvoorde (Belgium) (1932); studies at the Ecole Nationale SupCrieure des Eaux et Forkts,Nancy (France) (certz$cat itranger) (1933); attended courses at the Institut d'urbanisme de l'UniversitC de Paris (1947);Adviser on 'green spaces', Ministry of Public Works, Brussels (Belgium); Professor at the &ole Nationale SupCrieure d'Architecture et des Arts Visuels ; member

of the Royal Commission of Monuments and Sites, etc.; Chairman of the joint lFLA/ICOMOS Committee on Historic Gardens; many articles in specialized journals. TUNNARD, Christopher Visiting Lecturer, Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1939-42); Wheelwright Travelling Fellow in Architecture, Harvard (1943-44); Director of planning studies, Yale University (1946-); Professor of city planning,Yale University (1961-71); Doctor of Fine Arts (Hon.), Union College (1966); Member, United States Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (1966-68); Member, United States National Committee for ICOMOS (196%); Doctor at Laws (Hon.), University of Victoria,Canada (1970).

WHITE, Peter R. Diploma in architecture (Birmingham, United Kingdom) RIBA. Private practice (1964-67); Project Architect, City of Birmingham (1967-70); (Civic Trust Award (1969)). Since 1970,specializing in waterside planning, design and development as British Waterways Board's Architect/Planner. Author of BWB, W a t e m q Environment Handbook (1972).Civic Trust Award (1973); three European Architectural Heritage Awards (1975); Development of environmental management policy, architectural conservation of canal and riverside environs, throughout the United Kingdom; contributor and adviser to several publications, e.g., Canal Architectwe in Britain BWB (197~);Canal's in Tozvns,L. Braithwaite, A. C.Black (1976). YOSHINAGA,Yoshinobu BSc. (1922) Department of Agriculture, University of Tokyo (Japan); worked on

The authors

the research of ancient Japanese Gardens with Dr Hara of the University of Tokyo (1923-); Member of the Committee for the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites (192.9); D . A G (Honorary Doctor’s degree), in landscape architecture, Tokyo University (1940); Chief, Division of

Monuments and Historic Sites, Ministry of Education (1941);publications: Change of the Structure of Gardens of the Joshi-ji Temple, Histov ofJapanese Historic Gardens, Development of Japanese Norticzdtaral Sites, Japdnese Gardens and Design and Jtracture of Japanese Gardens.

Hiroshi Daifuku

Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of years ago man, as a species, must have been rare for the number of fossils which have been found are small in number. Man must have been one of several predatory species and his effect on the ecology was minimal. Many early ‘industries’,traditions in manufacturing tools and weapons of flint, have been identified but the physical traces of man himself are few. However, on an archaeological site in a small valley near Budapest, Hungary, a heavily walled basal portion of a humanoid skull was found. During the course of archaeological excavations,an ancient hot spring was located. The clay banks surrounding the spring were covered with hoof prints of ungulates, including such long extinct forms as the European rhinoceros,belonging to the second (Mindel) glacial period. A n analysis of fossil pollen grains found at the site showed that, apparently,the climate was Mediterranean and warmer than at present so that it must have been during one of the interstadials, or warm intervals during the second glacial period.Even today,the mass of hoof prints is impressive,indicating favourable conditions for game. In striking contrast to the circular hoof prints of the ungulates, however, the long narrow print of a humanoid foot can be seen-the earliest known imprint of man on the European landscape. It is not possible to have a clear indication ofthe size of the population during the Late Pleistocene. However, if we use a comparison, the number of people living

I

on game during the period of early contacts

with Europeans had a population density which varied from a ratio of 1-1.6: I O km2 (in parts of Australia, the ratio was I :60 km2 under aboriginal conditions). In spite of these small ratios, the effects of man on the ecological situation prevailing at the end of the Upper Pleistocene was quite drastic. Many species of giant game which had survived for millions of years became extinct. Nearly all palaeontologists and anthropologists consider that this was due to man. All the temperate zone forms of elephants (mammoths and mastodons), cave bear, sabre-toothed tiger, the dire wolf, several forms of camel, the giant ground sloth (from the New World), etc. disappeared and the repercussions which resulted from the change in faunal type inevitably affected the landscape as well. In the Upper Palaeolithic,game drives must have taken place,for at Solutrian sites the mangled skeletons of horses showed where they had been driven over cliffs and slaughtered. In later times, the Plains Indians,in what is now the United States of America, set fire to the winter-killed grass, scorching it to encourage new growth for the bison upon which they preyed. As a result,the prairies were much vaster in area than they are today.Since the disappearance of the great herds and an economy based on bison hunting, much of the prairie has become woodland reflecting man’s influence on the landscape even at primitive levels.

Hiroshi Daifuku

16

Primitive agriculturalists also affect their surroundings. ‘Slash-and-burn’ farmers girdle, kill and set fire to dead trees to prepare fields for cultivation. After several crops, when the fertility of the soil is exhausted, the fields are abandoned to weeds and brush,and after severalyears,trees gradually reappear.In areas where such agriculture is practised, the erosional process is accelerated with the loss of tree cover and the landscape correspondingly changed.Faunal associations and the very course of streams and rivers can be affected,for such changes can have repercussions. Pastoralists and settled agriculturalists also affect their surroundings.The needs of domestic animals,their pasturage,the need for protection against marauding beasts, . impose new patterns on the environment. In Europe,for example,beginning with the Late Neolithic,small villages sprang up and much of the forest which had prevailed until then was cleared for fields and for livestock. As level farming land became increasingly exploited,land which had been marginal, on hillsides, for example, was farmed and this contributed to the erosional process or, eventually such land was terraced and irrigated (Plate I), again changing the ecology and affecting the appearance of the landscape. Archaeological records show that once it was found out that a supply of edible plants could be assured through cultivation and that some animals bred rapidly and easily under man’s control, domestication spread rapidly.There must have been a long series of experiments.In the case of pre-dynastic Egypt, many species of animals have been found in association with man, which suggests that a wide range of experiments were made. This sort of experimentation was probably widespread and those plants or animals which were successfully domesticated were quickly diffused. Examples abound.In the highlands of Peru,a kind of pigweed is grown but its cultivation has not spread. O n the other hand,the potato,

maize, many beans and squashes,tomatoes, tobacco, etc., which had been successfully domesticated by the American Indian,were very rapidly adopted in Europe,Africa and Asia after they were brought back to Europe by early settlers. Similarly, cattle, sheep and the horse of Old World origin are now found throughoutthe world except for the most inhospitable regions. Fields, orchards and pastureland modified the landscape and competing forms of lifewhich were considered valueless or which preyed upon the grains, fruits and the herds and flocks of man were decimated.Some forms, in parasitic association, such as mice and rats and symbiotes such as the dog and the cat, also attained cosmopolitan distribution. In summary,while small hunting groups affected the landscape,it was not until the Neolithic or food-producing revolution took place that significant changes began. The rise of urban civilizations introduced new dimensions. As social organization became more complex a smaller proportion ofthe population spent their full time in the production of food. It meant that food surpluses developed and freed a percentage of the population from the necessity of hunting or gathering wild products for food to become specialists-potters, weavers, warriors,priests, political leaders, etc. In turn,a social revolution took place, the establishment of urban centres, city-states, kingdoms and other large socio-political units which transcended the family, clan and tribe so that in due course there resulted a fundamental division between the food-producingpastoral agriculturalists and the townsmen. Moenjodaro and other cities of the early urban sites (c. 3000 B.c.), found in the Indus Valley of Pakistan,were carefully laid out, following a rectilinear street plan and provided with elaborate corbelled drains running to sumps. The water supply and sewage disposal system was in advance for its time and did not find its equal until the Roman period. The buildings of the city

Introduction

Plate

I

Rice field terraces in Bali (Indonesia). (Photo :Unesco/Daifuku.)

'7

Hiroshi Daifuku

Plate

2

(a) The temples of Abu Simbel were carved into the sandstone cliffs bordering the Nile in Nubian Egypt. The construction of the

High D a m near Aswan created a lake

I8

which would have inundated this masterpiece. This represents the face of one of the colossal statues of Rameses I1 which has just been detached from the cliff to be transported to the.plateau.

Introduction

(6) The temples were reassembled on the plateau and landscaped to restore them to their original appearance. The work w a s completed in 1970. (Photor :Unesco/Nenadovic.)

Hiroshi Daifuku

20

were made of baked brick bound together with a mud mortar. Homes were furnished with a well and stands for water jars. Today, the visitor to Moenjodaro remarks upon the severe, functional appearance of the city. It is as if, in this early urban civilization,man did not need to be reminded of nature. Gardens and landscaping did not seem to be of interest to the inhabitants of the city. Much greater attention was given to the role of nature and to the landscape in later developments elsewhere. Records and models found in the tombs of the wealthy of ancient Egypt showed that architects prepared sketches and then plans laying out the position of houses, ornamental pools, trees and gardens. There were specialists who supervised and maintained the gardens.Flowering plants were planted in borders and tree-lined avenues led from the principal highway to the home. Monumental architecture frequently exploited the landscape. The monumental architecture varied from great pyramids which served as tombs for the pharaohs to immense temples. Among these were the sculpted temples of Abu Simbel in the sandstone cliffs of Nubia. The fasade of the Great Temple is dominated by four colossal statues of Rameses 11,each about twenty metres high. The fasade itself is about thirty-five metres wide at the base and some thirtytwo metres in overall height.At its base, a hall was carved into the cliff, lined with statues and terminating in the innermost sanctuary where the statues of Ptah,Amun, Rameses and Re-Horakhtywere found.The Great Temple, together with the Small Temple before which were carved the statues of the Pharaoh‘s wife, Nefertari,would have been inundated by the lake created by the construction of the High Dam near Aswan in the 1960s. In an international campaign directed by Unesco the world response was such that sufficientfunds were raised to enable the temples to be cut away

in blocks from the sandstone cliff; the blocks were transported to a site above the level of the lake, and reassembled and the surroundings of the temples were recreated as if they still stood as an integral part of the cliffs from which they were hewn.(Plates2a,b) .Today,visited by thousands,their continued survivalis a reminder of the achievements of a past civilization and of the importance that such survival can have to the present and to posterity. Aesthetically, however, the outstanding example of Egyptian architectural prowess is seen in the design and construction of the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut who ruled over Egypt during the sixteenth century B.C. It is located about four and a half kilometres from the Nile at Dair-al-Bahri. Once a walled avenue lined with trees led from the Nile to the temple, a low-lying structure characterized by a series of colonnaded courts which were reached by wide stairs framed against the steep western cliffs of Thebes. Even today, although defaced by her successor Thutmose, and by time, the temple is impressive in its ruined state. In the Euphrates Valley, another outstanding example of the development of landscape architecture is seen in the famed hanging gardens of Babylon, which were the culmination of engineering and landscape development of the Neo-Babylonian period (seventh to the sixth century B.c.). Its fortifications, wide thoroughfares, the seven-storeyziggurat located in the centre of the city, at the summit of which was located the ‘home’of the god,made it one of the most impressive sites in western Asia. The Ishtar gate, with bas-reliefs on the walls showing dragons and lions in enamelled brick, provided a spectacular entry to the city. However,the most famed element was the hanging gardens themselves-trees planted on terraces supported by arched vaults-which were considered to be one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. According to tradition, they were built by Nebuchadnezzar to

Introduction

please his Median wife by reminding her of the tree-coveredslopes of her homeland or they may have been more prosaically planted to provide shade in the torrid summers which characterizedthe region.The technical skills needed to build and install the pumps required to keep them watered were perhaps the most impressive element of the gardens. Early urban developments in the Far East also paid attention to landscaping. Models found in tombs show that the basic pattern was the construction of dn-cllings surrounding a court yard sheltering An extended family and ranging from homes for farmers to vast palaces that repeated this basic pattern. Descriptions of the layout of the T’angcapital of Ch‘ang-Anwere probably applicable to earlier cities; their layout resembles that of modern Peking. The plan was rectangular and within the city was an inner walled area, where the officials and the members of the imperial family dwelled. Beyond the northern wall was the Imperial Park.Emperors often built vast enclosures containing palaces and pavilions in which architects planned lakes, streams, hills, etc. often imitating scenes taken from landscape paintings. Trees were planted and,on occasion,full grown specimens were brought in special wagons and at great cost to establish a mature wood for the delight of a ruler. [Jrban planning in pre-Columbian America made frequentuse of the dramatic potentialities of the natural landscape. The Aztecs, for example, established their capital on a low island in Lake Texcoco (which is now the site of Mexico City) partly for reasons of security. As their military and political power expanded,Itzcbatl,who acceded to the leadership in A.D. 1428, ‘ordained the ranks of the civil government, and superintended the building of the city, constructing causeways to the mainlancV.1 I.

George C. Vaillant, Axtecr of Mexico ;Origin, and Fall of the Aztec Nation, Garden City, N.Y.,Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc., 1947.

Rise

In 1440, he was succeeded by Montezuma I who, besides extending the sway of the Aztec rule, built an aqueduct from the springs of Chapultepec to bring sweet water to the city and erected a dyke to protect it from floods.Succeeding leaders expanded Aztec control and by the time the Spaniards arrived under CortCs it was a thriving metropolis. Accounts by the Spaniards, supplemented by archaeological research, portrayed a low island traversed by canals. Pyramidal structures marked the site of temples, of which the most important was dedicated to Huitzil6pochtli. As Vaillant noted, the Spaniards,who came from what was then a leading military power in Europe and who were familiar with many important European cities, were struck by the beauty of the city. One of the conquistadores, Bernal Diaz del Castillo,tells how his comrade-in-armsexclaimed It is like the enchantments they tell of in the legend of Amadis! Are not the things we see a dream? . . .Gazing on such wonderful sights, we did not know what to say or whether what appeared before us was real, for on one side in the land there were great cities and in the lake ever so many more and the lake itself was crowded with canoes and in the causeway were many bridges at intervals.

Surrounded by ‘floating gardens’ (rafts covered with earth upon which plants and flowers were grown) the city rivalled those in contemporary Europe in beauty. Other spectacular sites such as those built by the Maya reveal the architectural creativity of the people in the New World. (Plate 3). Other examples of the relationship between construction and the landscape are found in pre-ColumbianAmerican civilizations. While Inca architecture was largely utilitarian, characterized by the building of aqueducts, canals, terraced fields perched on the slopes of the Andes, highways, still there are few sites as imposing as Machu Picchu. The buildings,located on a narrow ridge with a sharp peak and a mass of

21

Hiroshi Daifuku

Plate 3 Palenque (Mexico), a Maya site of the Classic period. The tower to the right is thought to be an observatory as the Mayan priest-scholar developed a very accurate calendar based on astronomical observations. (Photo :Unesco/Garraud.)

22

Introduction

Plate 4 Machu Picchu (Peru). One of the most dramatic sites of early urban civilizations, located on a narrow ridge in the Andes. (Photo :Unesco/R.Laurenza.)

Hiroshi Daifuku

24

mountains behind it, offer one of the most striking examples of man’s effect on the landscape. The looming masses of the mountains behind the site, the steep ridges which delimitate it and plunge to the torrents below present a dramatic setting which,unaltered by man, would have been one of the many similar neighbouring sites. (Plate 4). Many other examples exist of the reciprocal interplay between man and nature. The humble dwellings of peasants and fishermen located along the Grecian islands of the Mediterranean, the Irish Sea or the little islets dotting the Inland Sea of Japan underline that beauty and the fitness of design need not necessarily mean the grandiose constructions of a Ch‘in emperor or a Byzantine palace. Moreover, they represent age-old traditions and adaptations to local climatic conditions and the social and economic needs of the people. Nevertheless, there were still inherent limitations,because kingdoms or empires might rise but the sources of energy which could be utilized were limited and had to be renewed. Perhaps the most useful-and a development from the Neolithic-were large domesticated animals such as the ox, ass and horse which could be used for riding purposes or as draft animals. However, they were not essential to the development of urban civilization. Except for the ubiquitous dog, only one animal was found in the Americas which could serve as a beast of burden, the llama. However, the male llama weighs about 99 to IOO kilograms and carries loads of about 5 o to 60kilograms.O n land,for most of the other indigenous urban civilizations found in the New World,the beast of burden was the human porter. Nevertheless, civilizations grew and trade and commerce were widely spread. Metals,while useful,were also not essential for the rise of civilization. In the Old World, bronze (the alloy of copper and tin) is usually associated with early urban devel-

opment. But it should be noted that this metal was primarily used for weapons and for sharp-edged tools. During the Bronze Age, agricultural implements differed but little from those used during the Neolithic and farmers had hoes of stone or shell, or made use of wooden implements, for bronze was relatively expensive. In the New World,metals were primarily used for ornamental purposes, and urban civilizations were based almost entirely on the use of stone tools. The great buildings found among the Aztec, Maya, Toltec, Inca and others were built with wooden and stone implements. Even in warfare, the Aztecs’ most effective weapon against the invading Spaniards was a club-like wooden sword, the cutting edge of which was formed by brittle razor-sharpobsidian flakes. While iron ores are far more common than those of copper or tin,their reduction to metallic iron requires high temperatures. Furnaces capable of attaining the level required were not developed until about 1100B.C. in Western Asia. The techniques required were diffused rapidly and the availability of iron ore caused its widespread use so that even utilitarian tools-once made only of stone or bone-were rapidly replaced by metal tools. During the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, trade and commerce expanded steadily in Europe. The need for charcoal to convert iron ore to metal grew constantly. Deforestation was accelerated and illustrative of the limitations which developed,a number of acts of Parliament were passed during the latter half of the sixteenth century tu control the number and location of iron works to protect supplies of timber. Coal as a fuel had been in sporadic use for several centuries, but it was not suitable for the production of iron as volatile impurities resulted in a low grade of metal. Eventually under the spur of necessity, a process was developed whereby such impurities were driven off and the carbon in the coal was partially

Introduction

graphitized to yield coke. This development led to the rapid expansion of the iron industry, reducing the cost of the metal, and permitting the construction of machinery on a scale which had been unrealized heretofore. In the millennia preceding the industrial revolution,water and wind were used as sources of energy. Water wheels served to raise water from flowing rivers to irrigate adjacent land and to power mills.The wind was harnessed to drive ships and, on land, wind mills were also used in areas where breezes were fairly constant. However, these sources of energy were not easily transportable nor could they be concentrated. The development of the steam engine marked the beginning of power which could be used independently of its location. It marked the beginning of the industrial revolution. During the late seventeenth century, the first crude steam engines were developed, and used almost exclusively to pump water from the mines. In 1782, James Watt patented a doubleacting engine which could be used for all kinds of work leading to the development of factories and eventually powered land travel (railways) and steam-poweredships. Technological developments accelerated and, as a result, early obsolescence was common. The rapidity of change and the dislocations it has imposed on human society of the present indicate that w e are still in the ‘revolutionary’period. As in all beginnings, wastage and inefficiency were common. Prior to the industrialrevolution, long training was needed to develop artisanal skills. The introduction of powered machinery meant that women and children and those lacking in skills could be engaged without intensive training and at much lower wages. Changes in economy accelerated movements away from small farms to the cities and added to the work force. Much of eighteenth and nineteenth century industrial development was accompanied by unfit accommodations and harsh living

conditions. Pollution and waste were accepted as necessary evils. As societies became increasingly complex, greater specialization was possible which stimulated the growth of the sciences and technology and a major growth in population followed. There were warning voices. In 1798, Malthus published the first of his essays on the relationship between population growth and the means of production.H e stated that unless populations were checked, they would grow in geometric progression while the production of food would only grow arithmetically. H is prophecy has not yet been fulfilled because agriculture has also been subject to technological development. Vere Gordon Childe in Man &fakes Him self introduced another thesis. After examination of archaeologicalevidence,he stated that the food-raising or Neolithic revolution resulted in an expansion of the world’s population as compared to a hunting and gathering economy. Similarly, when social organization went beyond the ties of kinship (family,clan and tribe) and established urban centres, the urban revolution was followed by a quantum growth in population. This was also the result of the industrial revolution;in other words,population explosions occurred after new ecological niches were opened. Kingsley Davis refined this concept. His thesis is that, in contrast to the history of the industrializedstates,many developing countries have population growth prior to their acquisition of industrial technology because of the partial adoption of technological advances which have distorted their development. A case in point would be world-wideprogrammesto controlepidemic diseases, lower the incidence of infant Gordon Childe, Man Makes Himself, New American Library, New York, New

I. Vere

2.

York,1951. Kingsley Davis, ‘Urbanizationof the Human Population’, Scieritijc Americatt, September ‘956.

Hiroshi Daifuku

26

’

4Plate J Modern motorway construction need not be ugly. The supports of the Sori viaduct have a sculpturalquality and the curve of the motorway follows the pattern of the valleythe ‘AutostradaGenova--Sed Levante’. (Photo :Autostrada, S.p.A.)

Plate 6 The disposal of wastes and garbage is one of the crucial problems affecting the landscape, rivers and seas ... and one of the more depressing aspects of the ‘man-made’ landscape. (Photo :Unesco/Voronteoff.)

Introduction

Hiroshi Daifuku

Introduction

mortality,etc. without the social and other controls required to encourage small families. Technological development and the means used to meet the needs of expanding urban populations have multiplied the effect of man on the landscape today. The demand for raw materials required for the manufacture of goods has resulted in the development of immense mining operations and open pit and strip mines have changed many areas of the world. The growing need for energy to fuel industries has resulted in the development of enormous hydroelectric projects, electric plants fueled by coal and petroleum and nuclear power. Great highways criss-crosscontinents and airfields exist near most important cities (Plate J). The elimination of wastes is not an important problem for people living in a hunting and gathering economy. With the Neolithic and early urban centres,however, the problem of eliminating refuse became more crucial.Developments such as Moenjodaro are the exception.For the most part refuse was deposited nearby and scavenging dogs, rats and birds such as vultures aided in its disposal.Ancient sites such as Babylon are marked by huge mounds or tells representing the accumulation of years of occupation in which succeeding cultures built upon the debris of the past, furnishing archaeologists with the data for historical analyses. Not much progress has been realized since then. Many coastal cities have used adjoining marshlands (PL’ate 6) as dumps to be eventually filled, covered and even converted into parks. However, the ecological role of the marsh which provides shelter for many fishes and shellfish and 4 Plate 7 A Neolithic food-producing ‘plant’in the foreground which converts grass and feed grains to milk,meat and hides with an industrial plant in the background. This is in Colombia but the scene could be reproduced elsewhere. (Photo :UnescoiAlmasy.)

serves as a nursery for many forms of fish which later go off to the sea, has been ignored.Inland,city dumps also contribute to the pollution of the countryside. Cities which have sent sewage to the sea or towed refuse out to be dumped off-shoreare now faced with long-term problems affecting public health. Mines and factories have added to the over-allpollution of the environment. In the history of the development of urban civilizations,cities are usually located where: (a) food is readily available; (b) communications are good; and to these positive factors are added the possibilities of the production of manufactured goods, services,or both. However,their growth is also introducing a paradoxical element-in that the very expansion of the city may take place at the price of reducing these favourable characteristics. An example is Japan. The largest island, Honshu, is largely mountainous.The central plains have been the granary of the island. The growth of cities has been accompanied by increased agricultural production based on the intensive use of fertilizers, insecticides and machinery-but the loss in acreage due to the buildings of high-rise structures,highways, factories, etc. is permanent. Japan, with its large urban population, is now dependent on imported food to a far greater degree than a few decades ago. Many other countries are faced with the problem of limited agricultural land and large populations share this dilemma. The growth of cities into giant coalesced units,the ‘megalopolis’,is destroying the hinterland which once nourished the inhabitants of urban centres. Mass production, one of the characteristics of industrialdevelopment,while resulting in low unit cost, also imposes a high degree of similarity of the products which are made. Improved communications and the diffusion of ideas and techniques result in a high degree of similar-lookingbuildings in contemporary urban construction.

29

Hiroshi Daifuku

Protective measures are urgently needed to ensure the preservation of the historic appearance of both the natural and the manmade landscape. The possibilities for change are so great with the means which are currently available,that not only could the landscape become largely man-made, but it could also be largely restricted to current styles with a consequent loss of appreciation and understanding of our past and of man’s relationship with nature (Plate 7 ).

Concepts such as ‘spaceshipearth‘ underline the fact that w e live in a closed system and that changes are not only far-reaching but are interrelated with a number of phenomena. The landscape is thus a fragile and sensitive indicator of changes taking place in the natural environment and of whether the people involved are concerned about their surroundings and the well-being of others.

F. G.Breman

Amsterdam-green spaces for a city on land recovered from the sea

INTRODUCTION

Amsterdam was a small fishing village located along the Amstel River which led into an inland arm of the Zuider Zee. Its development began with the construction of a dam to keep out the sea.To a considerable degree the city is ‘man-made’, as much of the land was recovered from swamps and eventually from the sea. The necessity to construct dams and canals to ensure dry land and to sink piles upon which buildings could be erected, led to its early development as a planned city. As it is based on water-bornesilts, sands and clays, building stones do not exist. Fired red brick became the characteristic building material and the old centre of the city, with its weathered brick buildings trimmed with white, facing tree-lined canals, gives Amsterdam its particular appearance and charm.The city grew concentrically and even today red brick is still the characteristic building material, so that the outer, new sections of the city blend harmoniously with the old. C A T E G O R I E S O F T H E CITY’S P A R K S

Within the city green space is maintained, in part through a programme of small to large parks which vary from I hectare to larger units up to 50 to I O O hectares in size. These parks offer breaks in the built-up areas of the city and provide its inhabitants relief from their immediate surroundings,

particularly for those who are restricted in their movements such as mothers with small children and older people. People who are employed in the area use such parks for relaxation during their lunch hours for exercise,etc. The following types of recreationalfacilities characterize the different categories of parks found in Amsterd a m and many other cities. Neighbourhood small parks, provided with benches, playing areas for toddlers such as sand-boxes,wading pools, ornamental flowerborders,a few trees and tables for such games as chess or draughts,chairs. Larger parks serving a district or a quarter within a city provided with playgrounds for children with small obstacles such as log ladders, swings, rollerskating rinks,tennis courts, snack bars, ornamental plantings, etc. Town parks, equipped with much of the material outlined above, and having in addition larger recreational areas,including rides (ponies, camels, as well as miniature automobiles,etc.), marionette theatres, a small zoo, open-air dancing, space for one or two playing fields, tennis courts,a miniature golf course, restaurant, as well as snack bars, bowling greens and bowling alleys, etc. Forest parks which are several hundred hectares in size and preserve existing wooded areas or, in the case of Amsterdam, created wooded areas for the inhabitants of the city where manifold

2

F. G.B r e m a n

Plate 8

‘Het BOS’of Amsterdam. Aerial view taken in 1936 of the area to b e converted into Amsterdam’s forest park. (Photo:Public Works Department, Amsterdam.)

Amsterdam-green

spaces for a city on land recovered from the sea

PZate 3 Photograph of the same area in 1970 showing the use of tree plantings to separate groups and activities. (Photo:Public Works Department, Amsterdam.)

33

F.G.Breman activities can be carried out, giving residents a feeling of being ‘awayfrom the city’. As this represents a special case, a fuller description is given below. For many years residents of Amsterdam had to go at least 20 kilometres away to the sea or to the east, if they wished to find open space. In 1728,the City Council decided to establish a wooded area in the vicinity of Amsterdam. A total of 700 hectares of polder land were acquired south-west of the city, which lay about four metres below sea level. (Plate 8 ). One of the major difficulties in creating a wooded area near Amsterdam was that the water-tablewas too close to the surface for tree plantings. Nearly 3 0 0 kilometres of drain pipes were laid emptying into a series of interconnected artificial lakes, which resulted in lowering the water-table five and a half metres below sea level.The earth recovered from excavating the lakes was used to add relief to the terrain. SPECIAL F E A T U R E S

34

‘HetBOS’or ‘The Wood‘ as it is known today, the 700-hectare man-made forested park in Amsterdam, has a number of features planned to meet the needs of the residents of Amsterdam. Only a single motor road with a few branch roads exist in the woods. Foot, cycle and bridle-paths have been installed. Heavily planted boundaries are a characteristic feature of the Bos so that groups can be isolated from their neighbours (Plate 9). During summer people now visit the Bos at the rate of 40,000 to 60,000 and even IOO,OOO a day. A fair proportion of visitors come by car and there are parking facilities for about 4,000cars,including a part of the forest park intended for road-sidecamping. In fine weather this area resembles a village consisting of cars and tents, with a one-day permit.At day’s end these campers pack up

all their belongings and drive home,for no one is allowed to camp during the night in the Bos, except at the controlled camping site. Additional car parks will be provided to cope with the ever-growingdemand for parking space. There are several interesting short-termsolutions which would raise the maximum parking capatity to 5,000 or 5,500 cars. R E C E N T PROJECTS

Recreational facilities of the Bos have been added, including a canoe hiring establishment and a privately owned pony centre, where children as well as adults (in a more or less equal ratio) can ride some thirty Icelandic ponies (Plate Ia). A wild fowl reserve has been established. The Bos is inhabited by an astonishing number of birds. A n island with small stretches of artificial beach has been added to the reserve and shore birds have begun to breed (Pl‘ate II). A collection of some 450 indigenous herbs can be found on the island.It is not surprising,therefore,that it has become a favourite goal for school excursions.During the season, an average of fifteen classes visit the island every week for tours conducted by wardens.Similar excursions are organized in many of Amsterdam’s major parks. In addition,co-operation with societies engaged in nature studies is encouraged by lending material aid and assistance. In the Bos,many forms of non-organized sports and games are actively pursued. There are fields with movable goal-posts where youngsters can play improvised football games. At first the goal-posts were fixed,but it was found that the area around the goals soon became bare of grass. Since the goals were made movable this form of damage has ceased. It should be stressed that the dimensions of the fields are not in accordance with official competition rules. This is deliberate so as to prevent them from being used for competition.

Amsterdam-green

As urban expansion continues between Amsterdam and the other cities nearby, the necessity of making the best use of the limited land available in this area of the Netherlands calls for long-term planning. Another recreational area of some 2,700hectares was established between Amsterdam and Haarlem to the west. North of Amsterdam, 700 hectares have been set aside along the coast of Ijssel lake, the former Zuider Zee. The most ambitious, however, is the green area of Amstelland in which 4,000 hectares of former agricultural land have been set aside for recreational use,and to act as a buffer between the urban areas of Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Ouder Amstel and Diemen. It includes the superfluous polder waters of the rivers Amstel,Holendrecht-Bullewijk,Gein and Weespertrekvaart, Gaasp and the neighbouring meadows. (Plntes 1.2 a, 6). The following procedures were followed in planning the Amstelland development. Prepnrntov phase

A n inventory of the existing landscape was made. The influence of the proposed infrastructure on the landscape was studied. The possibilities for recreation mere analysed and requirements established. The characteristics and demands of each type of recreational activity and the terrain were accordingly divided to meet these needs.

The injiience of zcrbnn developmats The changes taking place in the infrastructure of the south-easternpart of the Amsterdam agglomeration have influenced the landscape surrounding these urban centres. Urban high-riseconstructioninfluences low lands considerably and highways have subdivided the area into more or less equal compartments.A secondary consequence of

spaces for a city on land recovered from the sea

the plan was the expansion of the dyke system.

As a buffer zone, the Amstelland green area was given the following characteristics: no buildings;continuity in space; and an appearance as a natural area which was not strictly delimited by boundaries. New landscapes

The Amstelland green area was incorporated in the finished structure and the following

changes

resulted: (a)

the land-

scape/highway zone (VI) was multiplied and much of the area restricted to recreational use (joo hectares); (b) the border zone required careful handling. Maximum contrast was given between the buildings and the landscape although direct relations between them were maintained;(c) in some areas the border zonew a s already so strongly subdivided that nothing was left of the original landscape;(d) some parts are clearly isolated by subdivisions which was compensated for by traffic structure, although this was not always possible. Rrqujrt.mentsfor the vnriozis kinds of d&