Product Description

With more than 30 percent new material, the fourth edition of this classic is an indispensable resource for practicing landscape architecture professionals as well as students. The most comprehensive overview of landscape architecture available, this reference covers every aspect of planning, design, installation, implementation, and maintenance.

Landscape architects, architects, and everyone else involved with the shaping of our living environment will find in this colorful book a systematic approach to the creation of more usable, efficient, and attractive outdoor places. Simply put--it is the best one-volume course ever written on landscape planning and landscape design.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #463999 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 396 pages

From the Back Cover
400 MAGNIFICENT FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS

INCORPORATE HARMONY AND SUSTAINABILITY INTO LAND PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN

This completely updated modern classic provides a systematic approach to the creation of more usable, efficient, aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces and places. Readers will find hundreds of teaching diagrams, plans, photographs, and graphics -- including the works of many of the world's leading landscape architects and firms.

Offering unparalleled coverage of every aspect of the theory, application, and practice of landscape architecture, this reference belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in how people and the environment can be brought into greater accord.

Unquestionably the best way to keep pace with the latest thinking in environmental planning and landscape design, the new Fourth Edition covers:

• The fundamentals of landscape and environmental planning
• Nature as the all-embracing framework
• Topography and earth modeling
• Treatment of wetlands, waterways, and water bodies
• And more

From the basics of using the natural landscape as the ecological basis for all land use planning to breakthrough methods for designing habitations and communities, Landscape Architecture provides step-by-step procedures for:

• Selecting and analyzing sites
• Assessing environmental impact
• Developing detailed designs

New co-author Barry W. Starke has completely revitalized the design and presentation of this inspirational reference with the welcome addition of the works of world-renowned landscape photographers. Their work adds an unmatched visual appeal to the Fourth Edition.

FROM THE FLAPS

The Classic Guide to the Practice of Landscape Architecture Today
For generations, Landscape Architecture has been the preeminent single source of ideas and information on the theory and practice of landscape architecture. Featuring more than 400 full-color illustrations and a fresh, dynamic presentation from new co-author Barry W. Starke, this completely revised and updated edition expertly covers:

• The fundamentals of landscape and environmental planning
• Guidelines to site selection and analysis
• The site planning/development process
• Natural systems
• Design treatment of views and view sheds
• Pedestrian and vehicular circulation
• Growth management and the preclusion of suburban sprawl
• The integration of buildings, landscapes, and gardens
• Helpful ideas on site construction, including walls, paving, decks, signage, lighting, pools, fountains, and outdoor furnishings
• Neighborhood and community planning
• The revitalization of suburbs, towns, and cities
• Historic preservation
• Resource conservation
• Land restoration and reclamation
• Outdoor living and recreation

In recognition of all the many exciting challenges and opportunities facing those in the field, co-author Starke has included the photographic works of Tom Lamb, D. A. Horchner, Charles Mayer, Tom Fox, Alan Ward, and others to provide handsome new visual aids that both reach and inspire.

While this new edition greatly builds and expands on the previous editions, its purpose remains the same: to provide readers with the definitive examination of the theory and practice of landscape architecture with an emphasis on environmental issues affecting the field.

About the Author
John Ormsbee Simonds, who died in May 2005, was one of the 20th century's most important figures in landscape architecture and environmental planning. He was recognized worldwide for his visionary thinking and innovative spirit. Mr. Simonds' work and career spanned over 70 years, bridging an era during which the profession of landscape architecture expanded from a small number of individuals in the early 1900s to today's more than 30,000 of the most important land use and environmental planners in the United States. His many contributions, including Landscape Architecture, helped lay the groundwork for the focus on the environmentally responsible planning and design of today. Mr. Simonds was President and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, which awarded him its highest honor, the ASLA Medal, and its one-time Centennial President's Medal. He was a member of the President's Task Force on the Environment and the Florida Governor's Task Force on Natural Resources, and was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Design in Great Britain.

Barry W. Starke has been a leader in the profession of landscape architecture for over 30 years. He graduated with a degree in landscape architecture from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1967. While at Berkeley, he was introduced to the first edition of Landscape Architecture, which became a major influence on his career. In 1974, he co-founded the award-winning, multidisciplinary landscape architecture and environmental design firm Earth Design Associates, Inc., and continues to serve as President. In 1988, he was elected to the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where he taught Professional Practice. Mr. Starke served as the Centennial President of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1999, leading ASLA's 100th-anniversary celebration. He is a Fellow of the ASLA, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and currently serves as vice-chair of the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation. In 2003, Mr. Starke received the inaugural M. Meade Palmer Medal from the Virginia Chapter of the ASLA for outstanding contributions to landscape architecture.

Customer Reviews

Great overview of landscape architecture
This is really THE seminal instroductory book to landscape architecture. It's not really specific enough to be a true reference book, but it covers such a vast range of topics that it would be unrealistic to expect it to be. Instead, Simonds did a fantastic job of summarizing an amazingly broad field one subject at a time. Still, it is not so broad that the reader will fail to see the trees through the forest. It does include a lot of very helpful illustrations and explanations about such topics as spatial relationships and how they create different environments (and subsequently a particular design might be appropriate or inappropriate depending on the circumstances). But that is just one small sample of the kind of valuable lessons this book is filled with. I often start with this book when I approach a subject that is new to me because it gets me on the right track. In that sense, it's not just for beginners. And the 4th edition contains much-needed updates of the outdated photographs that are in the 3rd edition.

great book
Simons is certainly an environmentalist, and I love that about him. This is the first text book I have enjoyed reading. He makes excellent points, though it isn't all totally workable. Generally a great book.

Overly Simplistic
Overall, I found this book to be quite simplistic and shallow. There were a few worthwhile entries, but I would recommend looking for a different text if you would like more in-depth coverage of this field.