An Integrated, Experiential Approach. Ancunel Steyn Final year Masters in Landscape Architecture IERM CONFERENCE, 2011

Transcription

1 An Integrated, Experiential Approach Ancunel Steyn Final year Masters in Landscape Architecture IERM CONFERENCE, 2011

2 Sepulchre has its origin via Old French from the Latin word sepulcrum [burial place] that comes from spelire [bury]. Sepulchre is used as a noun to refer to the physical burial place (e.g. tomb or grave) or used as a verb when referring to the act of burying a person. Landscape is not confined to a physical space free from buildings. Landscape is rather what is suggested in Cornerʼs book Recovering Landscape as both spatial milieu + cultural image with the emphasis of landscape shifting from landscape as a product of culture to landscape as an agent producing and enriching culture (Corner, 1999: 6).

3 Extension of life: pyramids

4 Association with death rather than living: cemetery

5 A_ Background + contextualisation 1_Land shortage and separated sites 2_The dead and death isolated 3_Landscapes perceived as dead

6 A1_Land shortage + separated sites Planning for the dead has largely been ignored in the past. Alternative technologies to increase lifetime of cemeteries and decrease space required for new ones. Sepulchre seen as separate from everyday activities. NIMBY

7 A2_Death + dead isolated Haussmannʼs renovation of Paris: move cemeteries outside city walls Victor Fournellʼs description of cemeteries in 1870: single distant necropolis, a vast and glacial funereal Siberia Symbols of insecurity and threat Isolating the dead, ignoring the concept of death: these perceptions are passed on to younger generation

8 A3_Landscape perceived as dead... Primary objective: to maximize land for burial capacity; modern pieces designed in the spirit of mass production ʻPlaces of memoryʼ without landmark quality Lost its role in place making Cultural + religious rites accommodated rather than celebrated. No recreation/sporting activities allowed

9 ...Landscape perceived as dead Dead landscapes as ʻstillborn landscapesʼ or corpselike constructs of such obscene explicitude that noting is left to imagination. In such closed and final works, nature, memory, myth, and theory come to an end. In the topography of pure reason, homogenous and without hiding places, the enigmatic encounter with things and places is flattened without depth or horizon. Here, humanity is reduced to a corpus of automations, alone in a world where bodies exist only in saturated states of pure presence, without even the faintest glimmer of a possible absence [, death] (Corner, 1991).

10 B_ Inspirational, experiential sepulchre approach 1_Living landscapes: experience and meaning 2_Not in denial of death: integrated fabric 3_A hybrid landscape, integrated activities

11 B1_ Living landscapes: experience and meaning Confrontation with profound truth and beauty brings renewed awareness of reality (Kent Dobson 2011) Continuously changing landscape: will ceaselessly challenge and engage the visitor; seasonal + diurnal change, disintegrating material Employ metaphors + symbolism Land art by Andy Goldsworthy (thewomancondition.blogspot.com)

12 B2_ Not in denial of death: integrated fabric part of the Civic Structure or ʻRes Publicaʼ (Krier, 2002) Outdoor classroom for children

13 B3_ A hybrid landscape, integrated activities integrate daily life activities, play and education with sepulchre and memorialization unconscious should be allowed to express itself; rational thinking not emphasized playground that informs children of loss and aids in healing The Walk to Paradise Garden (1946) W. Eugene Smith thlandscapedesign.blogspot.com

14 C_ Evidence of inspirational, experiential sepulchre landscapes 1_ Stockholm Woodland Cemetery by Asplund and Lewerentz 2a_Frankfurd Jewish Memorial 2b_Cemetery adjacent to Anglican Church in Kalk Bay 3_Bijlemermeer Memorial by Herman Hertzberger

15 C1a_ Stockholm Woodland Cemetery by Asplund and Lewerentz Plants display seasonal change Diurnal changes and the play with light and shade; sunrise and sunset breathes with emotional content (Corner, 1991) Open ended nature of symbols used e.g. cross on the mound Autumn leaves of trees in Stockholm Woodland Cemetery (cestchristine.com)

16 C1b_ Wiesenhof Legacy Park, Western Cape 12km from Stellenbosch Beautiful setting Rehabilitation through sepulchre GPS coordinates mark remains 10-15% of sepulchre landscape will be used for earth burial Remains marked with engraved rough stone (van Zyl, 2011, www0.sun.ac.za/studentjournalism)

17 C2a_ Frankfurd Jewish Memorial Surrounds the medieval Jewish cemetery Urban setting Beautiful Urban setting (Photos by Zeitguide,bveseling from

18 C2b_ Cemetery adjacent to Anglican Church in Kalk Bay Cemetery located between Main Road and the Anglican Church Accessible to anyone Surrounded by low wall Operational Grave markers with house in background (author)

19 C 3_Bijlemermeer Memorial by Herman Hertzberger Forms part of an open space Local children did some of the mosaic works Local children did some of the mosaics (photo from planeteyetraveler.com)

20 D_ Make inspirational, experiential sepulchre landscapes values beauty and strong, altering experiences to entice visitors repeated return to the landscape: creates the stage where everyday life is enacted and it becomes a type of encyclopedia of the life of a community in time; a celebration of life and memorialization of death.

21 by bveseling on D_ Make inspirational, experiential sepulchre landscapes Integration is key to a healthy community: we cannot afford to deny death any longer. One portion of land is used for sepulchre + daily life activities

22 Wave sculpture field by Maya Lin D_ Make inspirational, experiential sepulchre landscapes A place where the dead can rest and be memorialized, and the living can learn about life and practice it: designed as a public space; like a square, a park or a conservation area. Death informs life and the living honors the dead, rather than hide, isolate or deny them.

23 Thesis images

24 Thesis images

25 Thesis images

26 Thesis images

27 Thesis images

28 Thesis images

29 Thesis images

30 Open Essay #1: The City & The Cemetery Retrieved May 2011 from The Accounts: Burton, R Blood in the city: violence and revelation in Paris, USA: Cornell University Press. City of Cape Town Draft Cemeteries, Crematoria and Funeral Undertakers By-Law. Cape Town. Corner, J A Discourse on Theory I: "Sounding the Depths" - Origans, Theory and Representation. Landscape Journal, 10 (2), Dobson, K Swim for your life. Michigen: Mars Hill. Fernwood Funeral Home, Crematorium, Cemetery. (n.d.). Retrieved January from Heathcote, E Monument Builders: Modern Architecture and Death. Great Brittan: Academy Editions. Krier, L Architecture and Urban Design London: Academy Editions. Meyer, E. K Sustaining Beauty. The Performance of Appearance. A Manifesto in Three Parts. Journal of Landscape Architecture, September 2009: National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 Rivers and Tides Artist, Andy Goldsworthy; director and cinemotographer, Thomas Riedelsheimer. [Film] Setplan Metropolitan Cemetery Study. City of Cape Town, Directorate City Parks and Nature Conservation, Cape Town. Treib, M Must Landscapes Mean? In S. Swaffield, Theory in Landscape Architecture (pp ). Philedelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Ward, B Good Grief: Exploring Feelings, Loss and Death with Under Elevens. A Holistic Approach. (Second ed.). Pennsylvania: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Wilkins, B Afterlife Space. Urban Green File, June: Worpole, K Last Landscapes: The Architecture of the Cemetery in the West. London: Reakton Books.