2. • Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve
environmental, socio-behavioral, and/or aesthetic outcomes.
• It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and
geological conditions
• The scope of the profession includes: urban design,site planning,town or urban
planning,environmental restoration,parks and recreation planning; visual
resource management; green infrastructure planning and provision; and private
estate and residence landscape master planning and design.
• A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture is called a
landscape architect.
3. • LANDSCAPING
• Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an
area of land, including:
• Living elements such as flora or fauna; is referred to as gardening.
• The art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful
environment within the landscape.
• Natural elements such as landforms, terrain shape and elevation, or bodies
of water;
• Human elements such as structures,buildings or other material objects
created and/or installed by humans.
• Abstract elements such as the weather and lighting conditions.
• Landscaping is both science and art. A good landscaper understands the
elements of nature and construction, and blends them accordingly
4. • The following is an outline of the landscape
architect's typical scope of service
• Developing new or improved theories, policy
and methods for landscape planning, design and
management at local, regional, national and
multinational levels.
• Developing policies and plans and
implementing and monitoring proposals for
conservation and recreation areas such as national
parks.
• Developing new or improved theories and
methods to promote environmental awareness
and undertaking planning, design, restoration,
management and maintenance of cultural
• Planning, design, management, maintenance
and monitoring functional and aesthetic
layouts of built environment in urban,
suburban, and rural areas including private and
public open spaces, parks, gardens, streetscapes,
plazas, housing developments,
5. • Contributing to the planning, aesthetic
and functional design and maintenance
of infrastructure such as roads, dams, wind
farms and other energy and major
development projects.
• Inspecting sites, analysing factors such
as climate, soil, flora, fauna, surface and
subsurface water and drainage;
• Identifying and developing appropriate
solutions regarding the quality and use of
the built environment in urban, suburban
and rural areas
• Monitoring the realisation and
inspecting the construction of proposals
to ensure compliance with plans,
specifications of work, cost estimates and
time schedules.
• Project management of large scale
landscape planning and design projects
including management of other consultants
such as engineers, architects and planners.
• Acting as an expert witness in
Development and Environment Courts
6. ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
The elements of design are the visual and
physical features of the plant and
hardscapecomponents that make up a
®Landscape design. These features include
line, form, texture, and color. A landscape
designer uses these features to enhance the
design principles.
®Line –creates a sense of direction as well as a
sense of movement.
®Form –shape defined by line (shape whether
pyramidal, columnar, spreading, round
divide and define the space in the garden )
®Texture –sesualand visual excitements
The patterns of light and dark that translates
texture.
®Colour–confusing and puzzling element for
gardners.
8. ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
Line Leadsthe viewer s eyes through the landscaped space.
•It defines and delineates space.
•Examples of lines created in a landscape include ground patterns, edges of
contrastingplant materials, and tree tops meeting the sky.
• Use straight lines to represent formality or a contemporary concept.
• Intersecting straight lines suggest hesitation, change of view or direction, or a
pause
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
9. • Meandering or curved lines
suggest a more relaxed, slower
movement. Use these to create a
casual, informal concept
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
10. FORM
The shapes of trees and the areas of grass bound by edging are
examples of form expressed in a landscape.
•The basic form of each plant depends on the
plant s natural growth habit.
•The air space created by two plant materials set side by side is
also an expression of form.
FORMAL CONCEPTS SUGGEST THE USE
OF VERY TAILORED FORMS OF PLANT
MATERIAL AND GROUND BEDS.
®Such a formal landscape would include very
straight, crisp, and precise planting beds;
topiaries; and other visually clean-lined plants
®Informal or woodland concepts mandate much
more irregular or natural forms. Casual curving
ground beds and loosely branched trees and vines
have forms to satisfy this concept
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
11. GARDEN FORMS
Formal gardens
®Balanced around an axis
®Seen at one glance
®Finite in nature
®Based on strict geometry
®Also called dressed gardens
®E.G. French,english,mughalgardens
Informal gardens
®No axis followed
®Cannot be seen in a single glance
®Infinite in nature
®Free flowing imaginative spaces
incorporated
®Nature and structure blend in to
one another
®Undressed gardens
®E.G. Japanese garden
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
12. The basic form of each plant depends on the plant s natural growth habit.
®Some of the more common forms of landscape plants include round, conical, oval, weeping, horizontal, and
upright.
®Most deciduous trees and shrubs have a rounded form
®A conical form is characteristic of many evergreen trees
Incorporate Form Into A Landscape To Manipulate A Person s Emotions.
®Use vertical forms for strong accents and for adding height.
®Evergreen shrubs have more of a horizontal form.
®Horizontal or spreading forms add visual width to tall structures
®weeping or drooping forms to create soft lines and to provide a transition to the ground plane
®Rounded plant forms create large masses and are effective as borders and enclosures
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
13. TEXTURE
•Texture is the surface quality of any plant material or structure in the landscape.
•It is the feature of a plant or structure s physical surface qualities as determined by form and
size.
Texture is analyzed by comparison between objects, by association of these objects with each
other, and by distance.
Texture is associated with the senses of touch and sight. Referring to the physical surface of
plants (smooth, rough,shiny, or dull), texture is tactile.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
14. AS A DESIGNER, CONSIDER SEVERAL FACTORS CONCERNING
THE INFLUENCES OF COLOR IN A LANDSCAPE DESIGN
• 1. People have a psychological tendency to
lean toward light and vivid colors.
• 2. Bright light and warm colors excite
emotional responses. These conditions
encourage the viewer s eyes to move
throughout the landscape.
• 3. Subdued light and cool colors are more
conducive to moody reflections of thought.
• 4. Warm colors (red, yellow, orange) appear
nearer or advanced. Cool colors (blue,
green) appear receded or farther away.
• 5. Plants or plant masses must blend with
their surroundings. If a color change is
desired in a plant mass, proceed in a
sequence. A gradual color change in the
plant mass maintains the continuity in the
design.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
15. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
• The principles of design serve as guidelines thatgovernthe organization of
the design elements andmaterialsin accordance with the laws of nature.
• ®Landscape design principles include focalization,proportionand scale,
balance, order and unity,repetition, rhythm and sequence,
andinterconnection.
• ®Landscape designers use these principles of design to create landscape
designs that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
• ®The principles of design are focalization, proportion and scale, balance,
order and unity, repetition, rhythm and sequence, and interconnection.
• ®Use the elements of design to accomplish these design principles.
PRINCIPLE OF DESIGN
16. FOCALIZATION
•As a designer, create an accent or focal point
that is strong and effective. Do not
incorporate too many focal points into the
landscape.Otherwise, their effect will be lost.
•Use the design elements (line, form, texture,
and color) to move the viewer s eyes through
the landscape to the place of the focal point.
•draw attention to a focal point, incorporate
similar plant forms of varying sizes.
•Create a focal point with a contrast in spacing
between the plants or by grouping several
plants together.
• Most landscapes usually contain
visual focal points such as plants
and structures. However, running
water andrustling leaves are
effective as focal points,
capturing the sense of sound.
PRINCIPLE OF DESIGN
17. THE FOCAL AREA CONSISTSOF MORE THAN A SINGLE ELEMENT OR
COMPONENT. FOCAL AREAS CONSIST OF A GROUP OF PARTS OR
COMPONENTS.
•If color is the element to be used as the focal
point on a site with great depth, use blues or
whites as minor focalpoints.
•Advance these minor focal points to a dominant
red, orange, or strong yellow focal point.
•Why advance with this color sequence?
Remember that warm, bright colors advance
toward the viewer and cool, subdued colors
recede from the viewer.
•In this color sequence, the viewer s eyes move
from blue to blue until they focus on the red.
18. PROPORTION AND SCALE
•Proportion is the relationship that exists among the components of a landscape. It also describes the
relationshipbetweenthe components of the landscape and the landscape as a whole.
•Proportion describes the mathematical relationships among the dimensions of space and site components
makingupan area. These mathematical relationships are totally separate from human perception
dimensions.
•Plan for trees in settings relative to the size of the matured trees.
•Plant tall trees near a tall, narrow house or building.
•A small house surrounded by large trees appears smaller than it actually is.
•A large house surrounded by small trees appears larger than it actually is.
19. BALANCE
•It is the equalization of visual weight from one
area of a landscape composition to another.
•Two distinctly different types of balance exist in
landscape design: symmetricaland
asymmetrical.
•Symmetrical balance is a formal balance. It is
sometimesreferredto as bi-lateral symmetry.
Symmetrical balance is recognizable in that
an exact sameness occurs on either
•side of the composition.
Asymmetrical balance is an informal
balance. It does not repeat the same
plant material in the same quantity or
in
®the same relative position on either
side of the center axis.
20. ORDER AND UNITY
•Examples of order in a design may be symmetrical versus asymmetrical balance or a formal versus
naturalistic arrangement.
•Too many components and materials and the complex use of the elements create competitiveness and a
lack of integration within a design. To establish unity in a design, stay simple and minimize
differences
•Always remember to simplify diversity and reduce the number of differences between the components in
the landscape
21. Repetition
®It helps establish and add order
®and unity to a design. Repetition provides a
common feature throughout the design that
pulls the design together
®Rhythm a ndSequence
®They are the apparent flow of lines, textures,
and colors that express a feeling of motion
rather than confusion.
®Rhythm and sequence characterize continuity
and connection from one part of the design
to another part. They group the components
together, drawing the design together. This
keeps the viewer s eyes busy and allows
them to follow easier through the design.
®Interconnection
®A designer may incorporate interconnection
into the entire design or
into only a small space within the design
REPETITION
22. • ACTIVITY: Acquire several
specimens of landscape plants.
Compare their textures in relation
to each other.
• ®How does the texture of each
specimen change when compared
to the texture of each of the other
specimens?
• ®ACTIVITY: Research and
identify the different types of light
bulbs available for lighting
purposes. Observe the
• ®light spectrum of several of the
examples. Perform an experiment
on the effects the different types of
lights have on the color of plants.
Which lights would be most
appropriate for use in the
landscape?
ACTIVITY
