This is a book about landscape construction and the
importance of good detailed design, but it is not a
book of standard details, nor will it instruct you how
to set about creating details of your own. It might,
however, convince you that the consideration of
detail is as important as an exciting concept or a
striking site plan. It might show how a big idea
can be worked through into every detail, and how
details can come together in a powerfully convin-
cing way. It might inspire you to think more carefully
about detail, and to see the design of construction
as integral to the creative process.
This book, like many a design project, has had a
long gestation. It was first proposed in 2001, at a
meeting hosted by the Royal Veterinary University,
Copenhagen. Two of the editors, Torben Dam and
Jens Balsby Neilsen, had issued an invitation to fel-
low academics with an interest in the teaching and
understanding of construction. It was one of the
participants, Ian Thompson, from the University of
Newcastle in the United Kingdom, who suggested
that a book would be a suitable vehicle in which to
explore this theme.
From the outset, the idea was not to produce a text-
book or a set of instructions for producing landscape
details, but to examine the topic of detailing through
the consideration of case studies which would shed
light upon the design process. We were particularly
interested in the way in which decisions were taken.
Why was one detail favoured over another? How
did designers come to choose their materials? At
what point did the consideration of details become
important – was it a concern from the outset, or did
it only become significant later in the development of
a design? Usually, when we look at a project or visit
a site, we know very little about the constraints and
conditions within which the designer had to work.Another important topic was the relationship bet-
ween aesthetics and the practicalities of use and
maintenance. What sort of compromises might be
necessary? Designed landscapes are places to be
used. Can an artistic vision withstand the mundane
realities of wear and tear? We were interested in
projects that could be taken to exemplify ‘best
practice’, so we asked our contributors to select
schemes which had already won awards or received
positive reviews in the professional press. We did
not ask them to select the most recent designs, but
to find projects which had been in place for a few
years. Our reasoning was that only after a period of
use would any deficiencies in design, materials or
construction become evident. Readers should not
therefore be surprised to find projects in this book
which they have read about elsewhere. Our aim
was not to produce a glossy compendium of what
was most recent; indeed we are more concerned
with what might be enduring.Introduction
Jens Balsby Nielsen, Torben Dam and Ian Thompson