This was a student project by Jimmy Hughes for Jane Amidon's LARCH 633 course, Winter 2007.
Project description: From the earliest paradise gardens through the Renaissance and well past Modernism, we have understood the role of plants as structural elements that give form and spatial volume to the design landscape. The sensory impact of growth cycles and seasonal changes are recognized but for the most part, plants in the cultural realm have been relegated to object satus, functioning more as architectural and decorative elements than operative biological organisms. Increasingly however, within urban, suburban and exurban scapes plants are re-asserting roles as active agents of biological and social change. As (Western) society's concern for remediation of post industrial sites and sustainable development increases, the native ability of various plants to feed, filter, phytoremediate and phase takes center stage. In this scenario plants provide content and not merely scenery; the behaviors of vegetal species are understood as program and not merely figure. The challenge in planting design today is to find balance between the public's expectations (traditional configurations) and innovative exploitation of plant communities (eco-technology, green urbanism, open-ended processes and more). -- Jimmy Hughes
This work is a part of the online collections of the Knowlton School of Architecture Student Archives, The Ohio State University. It is part of an effort to make accessible student work ranging from the first student that graduated from the program in 1903 to the present.
Keywords: student work, KSA, drawings and plans.
