A vocabulary for building landscapes
Henk van Blerck
In the post-war period (1944-1970) land consolidation programmes drastically transformed the Dutch historical landscape. Landscape architects contributed to this by re-designing the landscapes in such a way that they would express the ?essence of the landscape? (Blerck, 1998), addressing their main characteristics, scenery and land uses. These post-war landscape plans resulted in distinctive - often even iconic ? landscapes in vast parts of the Netherlands. Half a century later the designed landscapes have fully grown and turned into a new layer in the cultural biography of the landscape (Hidding et al, 2001). Politicians, policy makers, officials and designers are confronted with the question how to preserve the characteristics and values of these designed landscapes. The objective of this paper is to identify the design elements that determine the characteristics of these post-war land consolidation landscapes. Twenty different designed landscapes were analysed using field observations, map studies, studies of the original designs and their textual explanations, literature study, and interviews with landscape architects who knew and worked with the landscape designers of the post-war land consolidation period. The study resulted in a typology of spatial-visual elements that can be considered as the building blocks of the post-war landscape designs. The design elements were used to enhance the characteristics of the historical landscape and its scenic qualities. It appears that the generic types of design elements were adjusted to the specifics of different landscapes and the personal style of different landscape architects. The typology of design elements with their specific local application offers a valuable contribution to the preservation of the post-war designed landscapes.
Event: Symposium on Land Consolidation and Readjustment for Sustainable Development
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