Contemporary Landscape Architecture has not become an applied discipline with mature market and well-defined social responsibility since its establishment in China. To address the issues that have long hindered the development, education, and public perception of Landscape Architecture, this article points out the required professional core means of landscape architects, and proposes five suggestions for their professional qualifications, including having knowledge about relevant laws, being familiar with relevant standards and norms, having empathy for users and professional common sense, having professional competency, and complying with professional ethics and accepting industry self-regulation. For the future of this profession, the promulgation of The Barrier-Free Environment Creation Law of the People’s Republic of China offers an opportunity for landscape architects to establish their irreplaceable role for the society.
The booming Internet technology and media have generated large sets of social media data, with which the social sensing analyses based on users' reviews have become a research hotspot and have been increasingly applied in the study of urban park usage and perception. However, most existing studies adopt a single model for text data processing. To fill this gap, this study aims to compare social media text data analysis methods and assess their advantages, disadvantages and applicability in park perception research. The Lexicon-based classification analysis model (lexicon model) and LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) model widely used in relevant research were selected. Based on text data obtained from public reviews of 10 urban parks in Beijing on Dianping, this study explored the perception topic distribution of each park and all parks in general, and compared the classification results of perception topics between these two models. Results show that the lexicon model is conducive to the parallel comparison of perception frequency between parks, while the LDA model can directly reflect each park's characteristics and visitors' perception preferences; the combined use of the two models can optimize park perception assessment. Results from the two methods reveal that visitors to urban parks in Beijing focused more on their social recreation needs and visual aesthetics brought by the natural landscape, as well as conditions of the transportation facilities and the consumption in the parks. This research can provide optimization suggestions for the selection and use of social media text analysis methods, and a basis and guidance for park construction and management improvement.
● Exploring the advantages, disadvantages, and applicability of two text analysis models ● The lexicon model is more suitable for parallel comparison between perceived objects by users ● The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model can better capture the characteristics of each individual perceived object ● Taking advantage of the two models’ strengths is vital for optimizing landscape perception assessment
As the elementary unit of the urban forest, trees temper thermal extremes in urban microclimates through shading and evapotranspiration, and by altering the movement of air. Metrics on shade performances of different species, however, are currently limited, which can be remedied by the development of a method to describe the range of species and cultivars via a structured overview of physical characteristics impacting radiation reflectivity, absorptivity, and transmissivity. This paper proposes a descriptive framework based on the concept of "tree architecture, " which has developed into a recognized field of plant study from the perspective of their physiognomy, morphology, and morphogenesis. The framework describes various architectural sub-traits within the overall trait categories of Crown, Wood, and Foliage. The descriptive framework can be used to develop a "Cool Tree Architecture Typology" (C-TAT), in which trees can be organized into similar types based on common physical characteristics. Further elaboration of sub-traits using observations of trees in controlled field laboratories resulted in new derivative classes for use as key in classifications for the C-TAT. The C-TAT can be used to organize the many species and cultivars occurring in, for example, Cfb Atlantic climate zone cities, to a lesser number of architectural types. This allows for more rapid evaluation and cooling performance calculations of tree inventories and can also be of value in assisting tree managers to propose more accurate thermal performance standards for trees in urban projects. The elaboration of tree architecture from an urban microclimate perspective complements existing elaborations and approaches in the field of tree architecture.
● A descriptive framework to elaborate the architectural characteristics of tree species relevant to solar radiation reflectivity, absorptivity, and transmissivity ● Critical tree architecture classes for cooling including Crown Proportion, Wood Grain, Wood Density, Wood Zoning, Foliage Texture, and Foliage Luminance ● The descriptive framework can be used to develop a Cool Tree Architecture Typology to categorize trees based on common physical characteristics ● Tree architecture is a novel frame for developing metrics and standards of urban trees in relation to thermal microclimate amelioration
This paper explores the typologies and characteristics of classical Vietnamese gardens built in the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945) by examining historical records, paintings, and existing gardens. The findings highlight the presence of two distinct types of classical gardens in Vietnam: imperial gardens and imperial mausoleum gardens. Numerous examples from Chinese gardens constructed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties are employed for comparison with Vietnamese gardens. Influenced by Chinese culture, Vietnamese gardens exhibit numerous shared characteristics and elements with their Chinese counterparts. Layouts, architectural styles of pavilions, garden elements such as rockeries, ponds, and bridges, as well as plant materials were inspired by Chinese gardens, yet they were adapted to align with local conditions, such as climate and garden owners' preferences. For example, the arrangement and design of some elements, like waterscapes and bridges, species of plants and stone materials were different. Understanding the cultural significance and uniqueness of Vietnamese classical gardens contributes to their preservation and restoration. By recognizing and comparing the philosophical approaches to garden design in China and Vietnam, this research sheds light on the diverse expressions and adaptations of garden design in East Asia.
● Classical Vietnamese gardens were influenced by Chinese culture and philosophies ● Classical Vietnamese garden’s layouts, architecture, rockeries, and plants are the aspects showing the influences of Chinese culture, but have distinctive characteristics that set them apart ● Gaining insights into classical Vietnamese gardens could contribute to the development of modern landscape design in Vietnam
In the background of developing sustainable cities worldwide, Beijing aims at "a harmonious and livable city" with Master Plan of Beijing (2016–2035) based on Ecological Security Patterns and a series of renewal projects on ecological infrastructure in the central city. Based on Ecological Urbanism, this study pointed out such practices can help link this green vision to individuals' actions. The theoretical lens consists of environmental, social and mental ecology, and provides triad indicators for regenerative ecological practices—restore ecological infrastructure, revive neighborhoods, rebuild social-environmental bond. Critical evaluation of an exemplar—Shougang Industry Services Park project revealed gaps on relating landscape with users' engagement and individuals' everyday actions. An evolved practice model—"collaborative ecological regeneration" was proposed, to integrate intermediary landscapes transformation with participation. It is supported by an adaptable toolkit including strategies on three aspects to care for EI components, form inclusive social collaboration and raise environmental awareness. The key tool "Urban Prototypes" can connect tactics across layers, conceptualize previous practices, and link to future ones, with proposed application to Beijing inner-city practices setting a few examples. This new mode indicates an open-ended regeneration process, while Urban Prototypes could be adapted to urban dynamics and stakeholders' desires.
● Urban renewal practices can help link Beijing’s green vision to individuals’ actions ● Collaborative ecological regeneration process can build a set of relations reviving natural and social communities ● The toolkit provides strategies to restore ecological infrastructure, revive neighborhoods, and rebuild socio-environmental bond ● Urban prototypes draw how intermediary landscapes transformation can combine with public participation
Is it possible to intellectually grasp the production of architecture in China over the past four decades? How should we make sense of such an unprecedented transformation of the built landscape in human history? Based on a three-year study by the editor H. Koon Wee, the book The Social Imperative: Architecture and the City in China presents a "sourcebook" that gathers multiple entanglements between architecture and society of China's economic reform era. This review attempts to provide an architectural-geographical perspective for readers to dive into this deep volume of collected essays: the socio-economic rapport between China's coastal regions and the hinterland. By situating architecture's "social imperatives" between geographies, this review presents a lateral reading across this multidisciplinary volume of work that would inform both practitioners and the broader audience on understanding the complex forces behind the process of architecture and the city, and contemplating the future role of the architect in, around, and beyond China.
● Reviews a book filled with first-hand stories and critical reflections about the social practices developed by architects and built environment shapers ● Situates an understanding of China’s architectural production and urban transformation through the “coast–hinterland” geographical perspective ● Suggests the need to rethink the role of the architect in China’s future architectural production
This research focuses on Shenzhen’s “urban waters,” particularly small-sized reservoirs that are undergoing rapid transformations due to the cross-municipality water supply centralization project launched in 2019, which includes the expansion of trans-basin water transfer capacity, the completion of Shenzhen’s first-ever two large-sized reservoirs, and the decommissioning of small-sized reservoirs. Applying an iterative design-research process, this project focuses on a chain of small reservoirs located along the northwestern foothills of Tanglang Mountain and uses the term “Hydrological Enclaves” to reveal the three interconnected realities of these soon-to-be decommissioned small-sized reservoirs in Shenzhen. First, it indicates their unique morphology of being surrounded by dense urban fabric; second, it refers to the fact that these small-sized reservoirs have long been “out of sight, out of mind” for that their existence is rarely known by the public; and third, it reveals the complex hydrosocial relationships between reservoirs and the larger landscape system of which they are part. This project aims to adapt these soon-to-be decommissioned small-sized reservoirs into decentralized off-grid water sources to increase local water resiliency. Simultaneously, the proposed water infrastructure also plays a much-needed educational role where visual and tactile experiences are curated to exhibit landscape performance and its critical connection with water security.