Gardens and Architects
Level 1 (CQFW Level 4), 10 Credits.
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The significant Architects of the twentieth century created personal gardens for themselves and their clients; the gardens their residential creations were to be sited within. These gardens and landscapes would cast a highly influential shadow both at home and abroad, and gardens they were to create both in the UK and throughout the world will be discussed. Great architectural names such as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd-Wright and Luis Barragan will be studied. Architecturally classic landscapes by Reginald Blomfield, Harold Peto, Cecil Pinsent, Edwin Lutyens and the influential Frederick Gibberd. This course looks in detail at their gardens, the public and private landscapes they have influenced, whilst bringing it right up to date with contemporary architectural designs from Charles Jencks, and Herzog and De Meuron.
Topics to be covered:
The development of the modern garden and landscape throughout the twentieth century, and the invaluable role of highly significant architects. The influence of these architects both on private and public gardens and their profound influence over changing lifestyles throughout the period. The role such lifestyle changes would make upon the design and our demands from gardens and the introduction of new materials and ideas that we would adopt within the making of these garden spaces.
The influence, significance and the created gardens of architects throughout the world are looked at; from the stunning use of colour by Luis Barragan, to the spatial modernity of Thomas Church and Lawrence Halprin. We will also focus on the role and integration of public and communal designed spaces in the fabric of city life, with an emphasis on those created across Western Europe and North America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
We examine Modernism and the innovation of the Festival of Britain, through to the growth and development of suburbia, right up to present day notions of contemporary house design and the garden, we will look at the development of the modern garden through the twentieth century. Beginning with a grand tour of the British Isles we will study planting and organisation of space, including ecological issues, sustainability and the use of new materials.
Who is this course for?
Anyone interested in learning more about the making of the modern garden. We will evaluate both well-known Architects and the gardens they created around their houses and buildings and the significance and influence of these garden creators, it will surprise and inform with many gardens not normally discussed in this context.
Learning and Teaching
There will be lectures, case studies and group discussions.
Coursework and Assessment
To award credits we need to have evidence of the knowledge and skills you have gained or improved. Some of this has to be in a form that can be shown to external examiners so that we can be absolutely sure that standards are met across all courses and subjects.
The most important element of assessment is that it should enhance your learning. Our methods are designed to increase your confidence and we try very hard to devise ways of assessing you that are enjoyable and suitable for adults with busy lives.
- Jane Brown, The English Garden Through the Twentieth Century (Garden Art Press, 1999)
- Jane Brown, The Modern Garden (Thames and Hudson, 2000)
- Katie Campbell, Icons of 20th Century Landscape Design (Frances Lincoln, 2006)
- Thomas Church, Gardens are for People (University of California Press, 1993)
- Sylvia Crowe, Garden Design (Garden Art Press, 1971)
- Trish Gibson, Brenda Colvin: A Career in Landscape. Frances Lincoln (3 Feb 2011)
- Penelope Hill, Contemporary History of Garden Design: European Gardens between Art and Architecture (Basel: Birkhauser, 2004)
- Tim Richardson, Avant Gardeners: 50 Visionaries of the Contemporary Landscape (Thames and Hudson, 2009)
- Marc Treib (ed) Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review (MIT Press, 1993)
- Jane Waymark, Modern Garden Design (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003)
- Andrew Wilson, Influential Gardens: the designers who shaped 20th-century garden style. (London: Mitchell Beazley 2002)
Library and Computing Facilities
As a student on this course you are entitled to join and use the University library and computing facilities. You can find out more about these facilities on our website www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn under Student Information, or by ringing the Centre on
(029) 2087 0000.
Accessibility of Courses
Our aim is access for all. We aim to provide a confidential advice and support service for any student with a long term medical condition, disability or specific learning difficulty. We are able to offer one-to-one advice about disability, pre-enrolment visits, liaison with tutors and co-ordinating lecturers, material in alternative formats, arrangements for accessible courses, assessment arrangements, loan equipment and Dyslexia screening. Please contact the Centre on (029) 2087 0000 for an information leaflet.
A range of further information can be found on our web site www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn or in Choices. This includes the times and dates of courses and an explanation of accreditation and credit levels.