set up for a new kind of event. This is the idea, that we can
put in place the means that allow and encourage landscapes
to change and shift over time.
A couple of years ago we started an experimental landscape
in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, along a tidally influenced
river that creates an undulating topography. Different
plant communities were installed with the idea that if the
environmental conditions shifted, there would always be
reserves of plant communities that could become dominant
depending on what shifts occurred. In that landscape, [we
made sure that] there was always a very high and sheltered
area and a very low and wet area, so that there would always
be reserves of plant materials available to seed the site as it
evolved over time.
Lisa Switkin and Richard Kennedy (James Corner Field
Operations, New York): It is not a single organization that
will take the lead on resiliency issues. The key to change is
inventing new multi-jurisdictional, collaborative, equitable
and cooperative models, that will require organizations at
all levels to adapt their standards and practices. To make
a difference and to truly innovate, we need to invent new
processes of design, communication, governance, funding
and implementation. [It’s been said that] all authentic change
is revolutionary, not evolutionary. Before being widely
adopted, change usually has a breakthrough moment, which
unfortunately typically comes to light after a crisis. Many
would argue that we are in crisis right now, but for individuals
who aren’t touched by it every day, it seems distant.
[Landscape architects] are skilled at having visions, building
consensus and bringing a holistic view, all of which are
essential for true transformation. We need to share our skills
and help shape the message to spur the revolution.There are great opportunities, of course, for new cities in Asia
and Africa being built from the ground up to have a resilient
agenda and mandate, and there are equally compelling
examples of proactive cities reimagining their futures through
transformational infill projects. Sidewalk Labs’ vision for a
new district in Toronto combines “cutting-edge technology
with people-centred urban design.” The challenge is inherent
in their vision, and we, as landscape architects, can help to
ensure that data and efficiency-driven systems don’t produce
mundane, repetitive and banal environments.RM: How do your projects enable us to consider the DNA of
the city differently? How can we retrofit our current cities?0202
Sydney’s Barangaroo South
by Aspect Oculus encourages
new relationships between
the city and its harbour
by transforming disused
infrastructure into green
public space. Photo:
Simon Wood.01
The design for the Chouteau
Greenway in Missouri,
led by Stoss Landscape
Urbanism aims to connect St.
Louis’s Forest Park with its
Gateway Arch and adjacent
neighbourhoods providing
opportunities for diverse
collective experiences. Photo:
Stoss Landscape Urbanism.059I N T E R V I E W
LANDSCAPE ISSUE 163 058 —