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History is part Almost everyone understands the cultural value of historic buildings and neighborhoods. But these things don't exist in a vacuum. They're part of the landscape.
of the landscape
Interest is growing in preserving
historic landscapes and gardensBy Burl Burlingame
Star-BulletinThe land on which a structure is placed is like the gallery around a painting, both setting it off and complementing it.
This year's "Experts at the Palace" series of free historic-preservation lectures includes segments on historic landscapes and gardens. One of the speakers, landscape architect Loriann Gordon, explained the concept: "My practice is NOT about recreating the past," she says, "but to understand the context of what we have now, you have to know the history."
No one seems to know whether ancient Hawaiians grew gardens for any reason other than for food, and the missionaries planted New England-style foliage around their homes out of nostalgia. Public parks and gardens are a notion that arose only near the end of the 1800s. Previously, such grand spaces were private playgrounds of aristocracy.
"The treatment of the landscape is a byproduct of the values of the time," said Gordon. "Landscape in America represents our democratic values. For example, the invention of sidewalks, which didn't exist in Europe. They mean that anyone can walk anywhere they want, right across other people's property."And there's the notion that nature belongs to everybody, it's a common, shared responsibility. As the European countryside became more designed -- broken into farms and managed forests -- people longed for wilder, more natural forms. It's a matter of balance. Man needs to feel he's part of the landscape.
"In America, the attitude toward the landscape was religiously Puritan; that it was God's garden, not to be managed by man. To enjoy the aesthetic of the landscape was un-American. In fact, prior to 1894, you can find no reference to color or fragrance in writings about American gardens. That's not that long ago."
That changed as parks and gardens became part of the cultural commonwealth of a community, as cities and municipalities became more organized to support the infrastructure of modern urban life.
"Things changed, from the expectation of utility from the landscape, to statements of social authoritarianism," said Gordon. "But when people are surveyed about what they miss about the past, it's the sense of place and belonging, typified by basic things, like trees on the street."
Let's keep in mind that designed public landscapes, from the hedge around a water-pumping station to the vast spaces of Kapiolani Park to the fake wilderness of New York's Central Park, are artificial creations. They just use trees and and grass instead of bricks and mortar.
Gordon said there are only four real innovations in landscaping:
"Such lawns don't exist anywhere else in the world, even though they were invented in Tudor times in England," said Gordon. "Such a democratic ideal, uninterrupted lawns, flowing from house to house. Lawns are a community decision, and lawn upkeep is often a result of community pressure.The Roman idea of confining the landscape to an enclosed space, of putting on boundaries.
"America has 50,000 square miles of lawns, worth $30 billion, and these lawns use more herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer than any industry. Environmentally, lawns are a disaster."
Inspired by examples of great municipal parks and gardens elsewhere, Hawaii's royalty -- and later, local government -- began creating managed spaces such as Kapiolani Park. Suddenly, there was a need for a new type of designer, the landscape architect.
"Landscape architecture is a discipline within a discipline," said Gordon. "Virtually everything in America is built by do-it-yourself "vernacular' architectural styles; only about 5 percent of the buildings are designed by professional architects, and that goes for public space too.
"It's not 'art.' Art answers to no one, but landscaping answers to everyone."
The lessons learned overseas had to be modified for Hawaii.
"The European style of landscape architecture doesn't translate well to the tropics. We are too coarse-textured, with bigger leaves, so we need bigger spaces," said Gordon. "And different ethnic groups affect the details of landscape design.
"One of the innovations in planning Hawaii's landscape was the introduction of stately trees. The endemic landscape of Hawaii, prior to Westernization, didn't have many trees."
Like it did so many things, the war changed everything, even the way we approach the landscape.
"Large municipal projects, prior to World War II, were placed into the hands of stewards of vision, whose job it was to balance all the elements, built and natural," said Gordon. "But since the war, planning has been in the hands of engineers, who focus on the construction and efficiency of the infrastructure, not on a broad-brush vision. The whole of the landscape was at the bottom of the priority list.
"Streets got wider, to move cars. Trees got smaller, as older trees disappeared. Gardens vanished, as people stopped growing their own food. The front yard, the lawn, became a social calling card. The back yard became a tiny, highly private space."
Not much has been done in Hawaii since the war, except maintenance and tweaking. The parks we have now were created a century or more ago.
"All great cities have great parks, a natural place, like Central Park or Golden Gate Park," points out Gordon. "Honolulu needs a great park on that scale, and the ideal place to put it is the Ala Wai Golf course."
While you're mulling over that grand vision, you can check out the public portfolios of Hawaii's other landscape architects, who have influenced the way we interact with the environment:
A free lecture series on historic preservation takes place at noon Thursdays at the Old Archives Building on the grounds of Iolani Palace. Call 956-8570. The topics: Experts at the Palace
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