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78 Sustainability in Park Design – An Integrative Approach Dagmar Grimm-Pretner 1 , Roland Wück 1 1 University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Institute of Landscape Architecture, Peter Jordan Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria (e-mail: dgrimm@boku.ac.at, roland.wueck@boku.ac.at) Abstract This paper investigates the concept of sustainability in the context of park design. Sustainability is seen as a process of a landscape or landscaped site, which is related to natural, social and cultural systems. The paper draws on research findings, resulting from literature analysis as well as investigating a range of built work for sustainable qualities. Case studies were conducted in five new or redesigned parks in small towns in Lower Austria. The paper shows that every design-related decision within a design process influences the three dimensions of sustainability – society, environment and economy. Applied to a design process, a model is introduced which offers handling instructions to cope with contradicting requirements for public parks. It stresses the importance of the role of landscape architects to develop innovative design strategies as well as innovative design concepts. The potential of design solutions to create an added value, based on the requirements of sustainability, is highlighted. The paper concludes that an enhancement of the quality of public parks can be achieved by exploring limits and restrictions between the three dimensions of sustainability and by looking for synergies and merging them through design. Key words Sustainability, sustainable landscape design, public open space, park, Lower Austria Introduction In the context of landscape architectural production, there is a wide range of interpretations of the term ‚sustainability‘ and its possible relevance for theory and practice. Within this field, it provokes many different reactions and understandings: They range from suspicion regarding the term over focusing on eco-technologies or ecological aspects to avoiding the term and speaking of performativity instead (cf. Meyer 2008: 12 ff). In the context of this paper, we will start the discussion from the point of view that sustainability is not a current status of a landscape or a landscaped site, but a process. A process which is related to natural, social and cultural systems. The aim of this paper is to explore the concept of sustainability as a model to provide impulses for innovative developments in open-space design and, thus, support the production of high-quality open spaces. It is not our goal to assess landscape architectural projects in terms of sustainability. The paper will focus on the potential of the concept of sustainability in the context of the design of public parks. The question what a ‘small’ park can contribute to a sustainable development of a society arises as the concept of sustainable development requires the society to offer its members freedom of action and chances to meet their needs. To foster cohesion in a society, the urban sociologist Herrmann suggests starting on the microscopic level, the level of social interaction of individuals (Herrmann/ Lang 2001: 30). Jan Gehl (1987) states in this context that the facilitation of social activities in public space and the resulting social networking is often underestimated. Therefore, parks, as important elements of public space, represent a promising starting point to explore the possibilities of the concept of sustainability to enhance the qualities of public open space. Material and methods The paper draws on research findings, resulting from literature analysis as well as investigating a range of built work for sustainable qualities. Case studies were undertaken in five new or redesigned parks in small towns in Lower Austria. The complexity of the research question required a mix of methods pertaining to social and spatial sciences. The methods covered the analysis of documents (design idea, design maps) and sites, design analysis by decomposing sketches, fotodocumentation, literature analysis, expert-interviews and participatory observation. Results and discussion The Model of ‘Critical Sustainability’ Sustainability is a holistic, normative concept which pursues the goal of including ecologic, economic and social interests. The three-column model – ecology, economy, society – expresses the theoretical fair balance between these spheres, which has been postulated in nearly all documents (cf. Alisch / Herrmann 2001: 98). Nevertheless, the tendency to grant single columns more importance than the others still exists in practical experience. This leads to the question whether and to what extent, a substitution between the columns is admissible. The model of ‘critical sustainability’ allows a substitution between the columns but requires protection for the ‘substantial constituents’ within each column (cf. Blazejczak / Edler 2004: 13). The advantage of this model is that the ‘substantial constituents’ within each column can be defined and based on this a negotiation process between substantial constituents in each column can
79 landscapes by definition have evolved without substantial human influence” (Lyle 1994: 10). In that sense, the concept of sustainable development leads to a durable cultural landscape. Fig.1: Three dimensions of sustainability and goals for a park design take place. The societal project ‘sustainability’ stems from learning processes which are far more than only repeating the known – through reflection, objection and antithesis, a new view of the past, present and future has been developed (cf. Alisch / Herrmann 2001: 106). Herein, the process-related nature of sustainable development is mirrored, which needs constant further development and expansion of knowledge to understand the interrelationship between the columns and the substantial constituents better. ‘Critical Sustainability’ as a Model for the Design Process Referring to the model of ‘critical sustainability’ (cf. Blazejczak / Edler 2004), an application for the design of open space is developed. A landscape architectural design of a site is the result of many different decisions that are made during the design process [1]. And every single one of these decisions has an influence on the three columns of sustainability. Being aware of and working with this is the basis for the following. In the context of a design project, it is appropriate to speak of three ‘dimensions’ of sustainability to express the comprehensiveness of a design project within which every single area and every single detail should combine the substantial constituents. The required substantial constituents for designing a park are phrased as ‘goals’ within each dimension. The goals are verbalized in a way that they generally cover the whole thematic spectrum (see Fig. 1). In the following, the dimensions and the goals are explained: Within the dimension ‘environment’, sustainable development is discussed from an ecological point of view, whereas ecology and ecological processes are seen in interrelationship with the people living in it. “(…), sustainable development does not result in landscapes that are ‘natural’ in the generally accepted sense. Natural Transferred to a design process, the natural qualities and characteristics of a site have to be analyzed and the ability for development has to be investigated. Natural cycles (e.g. water, or organic material) are of importance but also to make the special qualities of seasons perceivable. Measures and used means are to be optimized with the goal to establish self-regulating structures. Summarizing, the goals for the dimension environment – to be discussed within a design process – are: to make use of the natural qualities of the site, to optimize the input of resources and to visualize natural cycles. The existence of versatile public space is a spatial prerequisite for a vivid community. Parks are socially constructed spaces and a product of social processes. Therefore, the goals within the dimension ‘society’ are to offer possibilities for usage to satisfy the needs of the users and to foster communication to establish social relationships and, therefore, to strengthen networking within the community. Last but not least, the goal is to offer possibilities for identification in order to enable a positive connectedness with the site and the people on the site. Capital investment in open space leads to earnings in the sense of sustainable development of a community. Soft location factors like environmental, living and leisure time qualities are of increasing importance for decisions related to housing and business location. At the very beginning of a design process, in the concept and planning phase, decisions are made which influence the costs of a project the most, and these costs can only be influenced marginally in the realization and usage phase. The important task in landscape architecture is to find a design solution which fulfills the needs but which is also aware of the financial consequences in the realization and maintenance phase. Based on this, three goals within the dimension ‘economy’ can be phrased: it is a goal to maintain options for the future, to be responsive to changes, for example a changed demographic structure of the community. The use of financial means has to be optimized in a way to create a high value of benefit. By investing in public open space, the local value shall be accelerated to strengthen regional economic cycles. Furthermore, to each goal, a set of questions is elaborated which have to be dealed with in the process of conception and designing. As a basis for an intense treatment, only questions which cannot be simply answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but ask for an examination with regard to content are phrased. Some examples are: Within the dimension ‘society’ - How can the park become a place Papers
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