Extreme weather events, droughts, floods, shifts in precipitation and temperature patterns, melting glaciers, sea-level rise, water salinization, and more generally, changes in the water cycle remind us that the climate crisis is mostly a water crisis. Perhaps even more serious is a crisis of imagination connected with thought and with creative, far-sighted action able to combine the visionary and the pragmatic. A response to these two crises can be provided by the disciplines of landscape architecture: these have always featured a plural, collective approach that comprises or originates from living systems and natural forces, on the involvement of human and nonhuman communities in the design process, and the inclusion of the time variable in future plans—without neglecting the necessary flexibility of creative and pragmatic thinking. How can landscape design and different forms of collaboration open new doors to face climate and water challenges? What hopes can spring from collective design in its broader meaning?
This book sets out notions and ideas on water landscapes and (co)designed practices, identifying what hopeful routes might be taken for the three states of aqueous landscapes in transition—liquid, solid, and gas. The chapters show different scales and levels of design and collaborative practices: from large and governmental projects to small bottom-up interventions; from creative collaboration among designers to traditional community design; from participatory processes to nature as a co-designer for tackling the climate crisis. People, animals, plants, water, ice, fog, clouds, wind, sand, and rocks—all contribute to the cosmos’ landscape symphony, and designing together can become a seed of hope to listen and embrace the Earth’s climate changes.
Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Liquid, Solid, and Gas: Axioms for Aqueous Landscapes in Transition Part I: Liquid | Water 2. Sponsland: A Collective Design Manifesto 3. Let the River Run: The Aire Waterway as a (Co)Designer 4. Designing Alternatives to Megaprojects: Traditional Knowledge as Hope Against Seawalls in Japan 5. Imaginaries of Resilience: Rhetorics and Realities of Climate Change Adaptation in Four Southeast Asian Megacities 6. Water Communities in the 21st Century: The Case of Het Lankheet Estate 7. Resilient Design for an Altered Planet: Living Breakwaters for a More-Than-Human (Co)Design 8. Underwater Living Landscapes: A Landscape Plan for Calanques National Park Part II: Solid | Ice 9. (Co)Designing With Time: A Tempo-Material Approach Along Arctic Island Coasts 10. Building Up Water: Artificial Glaciers in Ladakh 11. The Sounds of Melting Landscapes: Facing the Climate Crisis with Sonic Intimacy in the Alps Part III: Gas | Fog and Clouds 12. The Cloud Gardeners: Water for a Thirsty Planet 13. Cultivating Water: From the Dew to the Sky Vault 14. Cloudscapes: Transcending Climatic Boundaries Conclusions 15. Choreography in Landscape Practice: Agency, Intention, and the Beauty of a World in Motion
About the Author :
Laura Cipriani is an assistant professor of landscape architecture at Delft University of Technology. Her current research addresses climate change issues, starting from the materiality of water and soil, and adopting (co)design approaches. Over the last decade, she has taught at Venice University IUAV, Politecnico di Milano, National University Singapore, Venice International University, and the University of Padua. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architecture (Hons) from IUAV, a Master’s in Design Studies (Hons) from Harvard Design School (2004), and a Ph.D. in Landscape Urbanism from IUAV. In 2008, Laura founded Superlandscape, a landscape and urban design firm.
