The Landscape Form of the Metropolis

When the city disintegrates into an archipelago of fragments a new role is imposed on the landscape as a carrier of topographical characterizations, cohesion and continuity. Patterns such as transportation corridors, settlement areas and landscape voids can be regarded as latent macro-landscape for...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: René van der Velde, Saskia de Wit
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Jap Sam Books 2009-06-01
Series:Footprint
Online Access:https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/709
id doaj-c0a1584f6e504bea9af75277272aa391
record_format Article
spelling doaj-c0a1584f6e504bea9af75277272aa3912021-02-08T12:07:43ZengJap Sam BooksFootprint1875-15041875-14902009-06-013210.7480/footprint.3.2.709735The Landscape Form of the MetropolisRené van der VeldeSaskia de Wit When the city disintegrates into an archipelago of fragments a new role is imposed on the landscape as a carrier of topographical characterizations, cohesion and continuity. Patterns such as transportation corridors, settlement areas and landscape voids can be regarded as latent macro-landscape forms of the metropolitan territory. In the staging of the metropolis these forms need to be embedded in a compositional structure that addresses fragmentation and disorientation, without relapsing into utopian forms of the traditional city that have proven inadequate for the metropolitan condition. The potential basis to inform this structure is the landscape itself: permanent, neutral and ubiquitous. The underlying landscape also contains an annotated catalogue of situations, in which the genius loci is recorded and secured. These latent compositional elements are transformed into landscape architectural ‘narratives’ within the topography of the emerging metropolis. The enlargement and distortion of specific topographies result in a field of new topologies, drawn from the genius loci and from local cultures and customs. The question is not so much if metropolitan form is determined by landscape, but how we can use it to structure and give meaning to dispersed territories. This involves a delicate choreography of macro-landscape forms and the micro-topography of landscape places.  https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/709
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author René van der Velde
Saskia de Wit
spellingShingle René van der Velde
Saskia de Wit
The Landscape Form of the Metropolis
Footprint
author_facet René van der Velde
Saskia de Wit
author_sort René van der Velde
title The Landscape Form of the Metropolis
title_short The Landscape Form of the Metropolis
title_full The Landscape Form of the Metropolis
title_fullStr The Landscape Form of the Metropolis
title_full_unstemmed The Landscape Form of the Metropolis
title_sort landscape form of the metropolis
publisher Jap Sam Books
series Footprint
issn 1875-1504
1875-1490
publishDate 2009-06-01
description When the city disintegrates into an archipelago of fragments a new role is imposed on the landscape as a carrier of topographical characterizations, cohesion and continuity. Patterns such as transportation corridors, settlement areas and landscape voids can be regarded as latent macro-landscape forms of the metropolitan territory. In the staging of the metropolis these forms need to be embedded in a compositional structure that addresses fragmentation and disorientation, without relapsing into utopian forms of the traditional city that have proven inadequate for the metropolitan condition. The potential basis to inform this structure is the landscape itself: permanent, neutral and ubiquitous. The underlying landscape also contains an annotated catalogue of situations, in which the genius loci is recorded and secured. These latent compositional elements are transformed into landscape architectural ‘narratives’ within the topography of the emerging metropolis. The enlargement and distortion of specific topographies result in a field of new topologies, drawn from the genius loci and from local cultures and customs. The question is not so much if metropolitan form is determined by landscape, but how we can use it to structure and give meaning to dispersed territories. This involves a delicate choreography of macro-landscape forms and the micro-topography of landscape places. 
url https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/709
work_keys_str_mv AT renevandervelde thelandscapeformofthemetropolis
AT saskiadewit thelandscapeformofthemetropolis
AT renevandervelde landscapeformofthemetropolis
AT saskiadewit landscapeformofthemetropolis
_version_ 1724280096346341376