Landscape – Great Idea! X-LArch III - Department für Raum ...

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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