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Landscape Architecture 101 - Fundamentals of Landscape Design - Research Guide

Landscape Architecture 101 - Fundamentals of Landscape Design is a strategic and bibliographic research guide to UC Berkeley library and web resources for UCB students taking LA 101. Here you'll find research techniques and sources for your precedent study. For additional assistance, please consult the Environmental Design Library reference staff, 210 Wurster Hall.

recommended = highly recommended

DECONSTRUCT your precedent to uncover its complexities, to focus your research, and to increase your search vocabulary (for example, the more ways you have of describing and thinking about your precedent, the more likely you are to find a plan or section). Add to your 'deconstruction notes' as you learn more about your precedent.

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FILL-IN THE BLANKS with basic facts. Search reference sources for an overview of your precedent.Note particular keywords, terms, authors, bibliographies, and footnotes. Learn specific project names, designers, locations, and dates designed and constructed. Add this information to your deconstruction notes.

Bibliographies | Dictionaries | Landscape Architects | Encyclopedias & Handbooks | Histories & Surveys

bullet Bibliographies are lists of writings or citations on a particular subject, time period, or author. Look at book chapters, textbooks, and articles for additional bibliographies and footnotes.
  1. Environmental Design Library Research Guides for research in the history of the built environment. Guides include both print and web materials.
Biographical Information on Landscape Architects http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/landbiog.html
California Landscape Architecture & Gardens http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/califland.html
History of Landscape Architecture http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/histland.html

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bullet Dictionaries For basic landscape architecture dictionaries see Landscape Architecture Reference Sources.
  1. Dictionary of landscape architecture and construction, by Alan Jay Christensen. NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
    EnvDesign SB469.25 C48 2005 Reference Desk
  2. Lexicon of garden and landscape architecture, by Meto J. Vroom.  Boston: Birkhauser-Publishers for Architecture, 2006. Contains short illustrated articles on landscape architecture concepts and practices.
  3. EnvDesign SB469.25 V76 2006 Reference Desk
  4. Oxford reference online - art and architecture - UCB only.
    Search multiple online art and architecture dictionaries published by Oxford University Press.

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bullet Landscape Architects See the bibliographic guide Biographical Information on Landscape Architects for a comprehensive listing of biographical resources
  1. American landscape architecture: designers and places, William H. Tishler, ed. Washington, DC: Preservation Pr., 1989.
  2. EnvDesign SB470.53 A441 1989 Reference Desk & circ.
  3. Dictionary of today's landscape designers, Pierluigi Nicolin, Francesco Repishti, eds. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. For 86 international contemporary landscape architects and designers, engineers, artists, and more, provides a biographical note, a list of works and related bibliography, and color photographs of significant designs.
    EnvDesign SB469.37 D53 2003 Reference
  4. Influential gardeners: the designers who shaped 20th-century garden style, by Andrew Wilson. NY: Clarkson Potter/Publisher, 2002.  Includes illustrated biographies of 57 international landscape architects and designers.
  5. EnvDesign SB469.9 W55 2002
  6. recommended Pioneers of American landscape design, Charles A. Birnbaum, Robin Karson, eds.  NY: McGraw-Hill, 2000.  Contains excellent biographical essays about 160 American landscape architects and designers and their work.  Each essay includes a brief bibliography. Illustrated.
  7. EnvDesign SB469.9 P56 2000 Reference Desk

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bullet Encyclopedias & Handbooks
  1. The Architecture handbook: a student guide to understanding buildings, by Jennifer Masengarb with Krisann Rehbein. Chicago: Chicago Architecture Foundation, 2007. See Chapter 7: Orientation of the building to the site and Chapter 8: Topography & Landscape.
    EnvDesign NA2540.M37 2007
  2. Great city parks, by Alan Tate.  NY: Spon Press, 2001. Covers 20 public parks in 14 American and Western European cities.
  3. EnvDesign SB484 E8 T37 2001 Reference & circ.
  4. Grove art online (now included in Oxford art online) - UCB only Electronic version of The 34 vol. Dictionary of art, Jane Turner, ed. NY: Grove, 1996. Contains 45,000+ articles on the visual arts, including architecture, from prehistory to the present. Excellent bibliographies and links to images and related sites.
    http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/
    Print ed.: EnvDesign N31 D5 1996 Reference, Index: v.34
  5. recommended Encyclopedia of gardens: history and design, Chicago Botanic Garden.  Candice A. Shoemaker, ed. 3 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. Excellent source for landscape design history. Substantive signed articles are illustrated; each includes a brief bibliography. Chronologies of selected projects are given for landscape designers.
    EnvDesign SB465 E63 2001 Reference Desk
  6. European gardens: an historical atlas, by Virgilio Vercelloni. NY: Rizzoli, 1990. Chronological arrangement with great illustrations, some color. Index, bibliography.
    EnvDesign fSB466 E9 V4713 1990 Reference
  7. recommended The Oxford companion to the garden, Patrick Taylor, ed. NY: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2006.  Table of contents. A one-volume encyclopedia of short authoritative articles on notable gardens, landscape designers, garden features, etc. New ed. of the classic The Oxford companion to gardens. Selectively illustrated. Bibliography: pp.531-538.
  8. EnvDesign SB 469.25 O951 2006 Reference Desk & circ.
  9. Wikipedia Web-based, collaboratively-authored encyclopedia. Useful for confirming a research starting point. Reader Beware: Content is non-authoritative, and in some instances has been demonstrated to be deliberately false.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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bullet General Histories & Surveys provide an overview and the context of a topic, with dates, locations, special sites, and the names of architects or designers. They usually include bibliographies. Here is a sample of the landscape architecture histories and surveys in the Environmental Design Library.
  1. Architecture and landscape: the design experiment of the great European gardens and landscapes, by Clemens Steenbergen and Wouter Rey. Rev. and expanded ed. Boston: Birkhauser, 2003. Includes some measured plans and topographical details. Western European focus.
  2. EnvDesign SB470.55 E85 R44 2003
  3. The Architecture of western gardens: a design history from the Renaissance to the present day, Monique Mosser and Georges Teyssot, eds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Pr., 1991. Well-illustrated with photographs and plans.
  4. EnvDesign SB466 E9 A7313 1991 Reserve & circ.
  5. The Art of the Islamic garden, by Emma Clark. Ramsbury: Crowood, 2004. Includes an extensive bibliography.
  6. EnvDesign SB457.8 C58 2004
  7. Changes in scenery: contemporary landscape architecture in Europe, by Thies Schroder. Updated and rev. ed. Boston: Birkhauser, 2002.
  8. EnvDesign SB470.55 E85 S3613 2002
  9. Contemporary history of garden design: European gardens between art and architecture , by Penelope Hill. Includes a selection of 20th and 21st century designed landscapes at various scales. Illustrated.  Boston: Birkhauser, 2004.
  10. EnvDesign fSB466 E9 H5613 2004
  11. Gardens of paradise: the history and design of the great Islamic gardens, by John Brookes. NY: New Amsterdam, 1987.
  12. EnvDesign SB457.8 B761 1987
  13. The Golden age of American gardens: proud owners, private estates, 1890-1940, by Mac Griswold, Eleanor Weller. NY: H.N. Abrams, in association with the Garden Club of America, 1991. Includes extensive notes and bibliography.
  14. EnvDesign SB466 U6 G75 1991
  15. The History of garden design: the western tradition from the Renaissance to the present day, Monique Mosser and Georges Teyssot, eds. London: Thames & Hudson, 1991.  652 illustrations and 51 specially drawn plans.
  16. EnvDesign SB465 H673 1991 Reserve & circ.
  17. Landscape architects, by Martin Ashton. Mexico D.F., Mexico: Atrium Internacional de Mexico, 2002. Features the work of 19 international modern landscape architects and firms. Well-illustrated. Text in English and Spanish.
  18. EnvDesign SB470.5 A85 2002
  19. Landscape design: a cultural and architectural history, by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers. NY: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
    EnvDesign SB470.5 R64 2001 Reserve & circ.
  20. The Landscape of man: shaping the environment from prehistory to the present day, by Geoffrey & Susan Jellicoe. 3rd ed., expanded & updated, rev. & enl. ed.  NY: Thames and Hudson, 1995. Includes black and white photos, plans, and drawings.
  21. EnvDesign SB470.5 J43 1995
  22. The Park and the town: public landscape in the 19th and 20th centuries, by George F. Chadwick. London: Architectural Pr., 1966. Covers the development of public parks in the U.S. and Europe. Includes illustrations and a bibliography.
  23. EnvDesign SB481 C47

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FIND IMAGES & PLANS Also see landscape architecture histories and journal articles.

  1. Aerial photos:  The Earth Sciences & Map Library (EART) has an excellent collection of aerial photos of California, 1939--present. A master index is available in EART.
    • Aerial photography and image interpretation, by David P. Paine, James D. Kiser. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2003. Online table of contents .
    • Bioscience & Earth Sci TR810 P25 2003
    • Catalog of aerial photography--Non-California & International (Microsoft Co.) Site includes links to online aerial photo resources.
    • http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/other.html
    • Some digitized aerial photos of the San Francisco Bay Area are available on The Library's SunSite.
    • http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/EART/AerialPhotos/
    • TerraServer-USA (Microsoft Co.) Searchable repository of aerial photographs and satellite images.
    • http://terraserver-usa.com/
  2. recommended ArtStor - UCB Only - Digital library of more than 1 million images including architectural images.
    http://www.artstor.org/
  3. recommended Image sources for the built environment - Environmental Design Library research guide.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/pict.html
  4. Great European gardens: an atlas of historic plans, by Sven-Ingvar Andersson, Margrethe Floryan. Copenhagen: Danish Architectural Pr., 2005.
    EnvDesign f SB466 E9 A5351 2005 Reference
  5. Index to Italian architecture: a guide to key monuments and reproduction sources, Edward H. Teague, comp. NY: Greenwood Pr., 1992. Indexes illustrations of approximately 1,800 architectural works in standard books on Italian architecture (UC Berkeley call numbers are annotated in the front of the book). Includes landscapes. Lists the type of illustration to be found, e.g., plans, sections, and elevations.
  6. EnvDesign NA111 T4 1992 Reference Desk
  7. Landscape architecture: an illustrated history in timelines, site plan, and biography, by William A. Mann. NY: John Wiley, 1993.
    EnvDesign SB470.5 M37 1993 Reference Desk & circ.
  8. The Phaidon atlas of contemporary world architecture. NY: Phaidon, 2004. Includes color photographs and measured drawings for buildings and landscapes, constructed from 1998.
    EnvDesign fNA687 P42 2004 Reference & noncirc.
  9. The Phaidon atlas of 21st century world architecture. NY: Phaidon, 2008. Includes color photographs and measured drawings for buildings and landscapes, constructed since January 2000.
    EnvDesign fNA687 P42 2008 Reference
  10. SPIRO, UC Berkeley Architecture Department, Visual Resources Center (VRC). SPIRO is the public online image catalog of approximately 20% of the VRC's collection of over 200,000 35mm slides. The collection itself is available to UCB faculty and graduate students.
    http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/spiro/
  11. World architecture index: a guide to illustrations, Edward H. Teague, comp. NY: Greenwood Press, 1991. Indexes illustrations of 7,200+ architectural works in standard books on world architecture (UC Berkeley call numbers are annotated in the front of the book). Includes landscapes. Lists the type of illustration to be found, e.g., plans, sections, and elevations.
    EnvDesign NA202 T4 1991 Reference Desk & Reference
FIND BOOKS for an in-depth discussion of your precedent. Note that for many topics you will not find an entire book; instead, you may find a chapter or an essay in a book focussed on a general aspect of your precedent (refer to your deconstruction list for ideas). Example: a book on urban parks might include information about Golden Gate Park.

In the Library's online catalogs use keywords or subject headings to search for title, subject, author, or corporate author.

Search for a time period:
Architecture, Postmodern
Gardens, Renaissance
Landscape Architecture, 20th century


Search for a type of landscape or site:
Cemeteries
Gardens, Islamic
Landscape gardening
Urban parks
Water in landscape architecture
Waterfronts


Search for a location: city, state, or country:
Gardens--France
Landscape Architecture--New York
Plazas--Italy


Search for a specific landscape architect or designer:
Burle Marx, Roberto
Gustafson, Kathryn
Kiley, Dan


Search for a specific project or site:
Biltmore Estate--North Carolina
Golden Gate Park--San Francisco, California
Taj Mahal--India


Search for firms or organizations using corporate authors such as:
Hargreaves Associates
American Society of Landscape Architects
Olmsted Brothers



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FIND ARTICLES for current and retrospective information. Use PERIODICAL INDEXES to identify articles within periodical and newspaper titles.

Hot Tips--

  • Journals, Periodicals, Magazines, and Serials -- these terms refer to the same thing. Journal articles are generally NOT included in the Library Catalogs.
  • Use Environmental Design Library indexes and abstracts to expand your search on your topic.

    Architecture Indexes | Landscape Architecture Indexes | City Planning Indexes

  • Use the UCB list of Electronic Resources: Article Databases to identify other related indexes.
  • Not all articles or journals are available electronically, full text. Some indexes use UC e-links to look up call numbers and locations for print journals. Use Library's online catalogs to look up journal call numbers in indexes that don't use UC e-links. Search under the title of the journal.

Here is a selection of indexes that are especially helpful for landscape architecture research. When searching for your precedent, remember to use truncation or wildcards (* or ?) for variations of words (e.g., park*)

  1. Academic search complete - UC Only
    Includes articles from popular and scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and general sciences. Citations, abstracts and some full text for nearly 11,000 journals; can limit to scholarly journals.
    Coverage.: 1865--present
  2. America: history and life - UCB Only
    Citations, abstracts and some full text on the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada from prehistoric times to the present.
    Online ed.: 1964-present
    Print ed.: 1954--present; Main Stack E3 A43
  3. recommended Art full text- UC Only
    Contains citations to items from over 300 international publications.
    Online ed.: 1984--present
    Print ed.: EnvDesign N18 A72 Index
  4. Art index retrospective - UC Only
    Bibliographic database that cumulates citations to Art Index, volumes 1-32.
    Online ed.: 1929-1984;
    Print ed.: 1929-1994; EnvDesign N18 A72 Index
  5. recommended Avery index to architectural periodicals - UCB Only
    Indexes articles in 1,000+ periodicals in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, & related disciplines.
    Online ed.: 1890--present;
    Print ed.: 1890-1995; EnvDesign fNA8 C64 1973 Index
  6. Bibliography of Asian studies (BAS) - UCB Only
    Contains records on all subjects (especially humanities and social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide.
    Online ed.: 1971--present;
    Print ed.: 1956-1991; Main, Moffitt, S/SEAL DS511 A12 B6
  7. Bibliography of the history of art (BHA) - UC Only
    Online ed.: 1973--present;
    Print ed.: 1991--present; Main N1 B51
  8. Historical abstracts - UC Only
    Indexes and abstracts journal articles, books, and dissertations covering the history of the world. Excellent for cultural history. Excludes the U.S. and Canada.
    Coverage: 1450--present
  9. JSTOR - UCB Only
    Full text archive of interdisciplinary scholarly journal literature, including the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, except for the most recent five years.
    Coverage varies
  10. Periodicals index online - UC Only
    Indexes the contents of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, from their first issues. International scope. Titles indexed include Landscape Architecture and Landscape History.
    Coverage: 1665-1995
  11. Research library - ProQuest - UCB Only
    Indexes more than 2,500 magazines and journals on art, business, humanities, health, social sciences, and sciences. Includes some full text.
    Coverage: 1971--present

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HOW TO DRAW Here is a selection of books to help you create your graphic presentation about your precedent. See the research guide Design Drawing - Resources for Skill Development for more resources.

  1. Color drawing: design drawing skills and techniques for architects, landscape architects, and interior designers, by Michael E. Doyle. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley. 2007.
    EnvDesign NC892 D69 2007
  2. Design drawing, by Francis D.K. Ching with Steven P. Juroszek. NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1998.
    EnvDesign NA2708 C49 1998 Reserve & circ.
  3. Drawing the landscape, by Chip Sullivan. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004.
    EnvDesign NC795 S86 2004
  4. Landscape architectural graphic standards, Leonard J. Hopper, ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, 2007. Online table of contents.
    EnvDesign SB472 L36 2007 Reserve
  5. Landscape graphics: plan, section, and perspective drawing of landscape spaces, by Grant W. Reid. Rev. ed. NY: Watson-Guptill, 2002.
    EnvDesign SB476.4 R45 2002 Reserve & circ.
  6. Plan graphics for the landscape designer: with section-elevation and computer graphics, by Tony Bertauski. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007.
    EnvDesign SB472.47 B47 2007 Reserve

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CAMPUS LIBRARIES Here's a selection of UCB campus libraries with collections of interest to LA 101 students.


Art History/Classics Library
308 Doe Library
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ARTH/
The Bancroft Library
Note: Noncirculating only. No photocopying allowed.
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Doe Library
Reference Center
2nd floor; stack portal, 1st floor
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/reference.html
Earth Sciences & Map Library
50 McCone Hall
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/
Environmental Design Library
210 Wurster Hall
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/
Visual Resources Center
232 Wurster Hall
Note: Open to UCB faculty & graduate students for class-room presentations. An orientation is required before first use of the collection.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ARCH/



Originally compiled in 2009

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