Book Review: The Inspired Landscape: Twenty-one leading landscape architects explore the creative process by Susan Cohen
I planned on liking this book before I opened it, but it had me at the dedication:
“For landscape architects – whose works, grounded in the practical, are elevated by their imaginations.”
Since we opened our business in 1994, we have met many, many landscape architects and some have been using Eye of the Day as their source for Italian terracotta, French Anduze pottery, Greek pottery and American concrete since our first year. This is a well researched book that I wish I could give every one of those loyal customers. The Inspired Landscape by Susan Cohen features professionals from around the world and with drawings, plans, photographs and resources attempts to portray the creative process experienced personally by these individuals through specific projects.
The landscape architect forms a plan by taking cues from topography, light, client style and natural conditions. Included in this book are designs of public places, botanical gardens, modern landscapes, country homes and on top of structures. Cohen spots and magnifies the initial flicker of creativity and follows it through to the resulting design. This book is a series of investigations into the inspiration and process of these twenty one specific designers, and a great resource for anyone looking for insight into and inspiration from landscape design.
And this is Interesting about Susan Cohen, too: besides being a landscape architect herself, she is a teacher and lecturer on landscape design and history and is the coordinator of the Landscape Design Program at the New York Botanical Garden where she founded the Landscape Design Portfolio Series.
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