Finally back in the office drawing!
The last month and a half have involved several construction consultations, nursery visits/plant tagging and general installation supervision. And especially with the hot days of summer in the desert, I've missed my (indoors and air conditioned) drawing board.
My next project is surrounding a mid-century modern home. It is remarkable to me, the extent to which the desert is a haven for mid-century modern architecture. Palm Springs and its environs laid it's roots in this architectural, interior, and product design era that is now recognized as a significant design movement...so where's the landscape fit in with this modern movement?
Landscape Architecture is the clever combination of built and nature-built. Minding to Frank Lloyd Wright's organic architectural efforts, materials should be relevant to the climate. Utilizing a Bauhaus-style "stripped" approach, the landscape is broken into planes, with hardscape and fields of monochromatic greens on the ground, and hedges and orderly tree placements hold up the "walls". Outdoor seating areas feel as though one sits in a scaled and plein-air room. The lines created, whether from a BBQ or the pavement, are free from bulk and girth, and are simple and clean.
A rumor that Mid-century modern landscape architecture style is "facile" or easy, is false. It may be easy to hint to a Mid-century design, but to practice it, I feel you need to understand the following:
Deconstruction of an outdoor space, that ultimately wants to grow wild and remain fluid, requires the designer/landscape architect to use confident restraint, use intelligent and divisive criteria, all the while following a personal understanding of your client's needs in their outdoor spaces. As well, to follow through, the authenticity of the materials in the space must be highlighted. Allow each material to stand proud with what it is made of... no stamped concrete here, no faux stone, and definitely no wasted spaces.
