Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
  • Alerts
  • ASLA Research Grant
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Landscape Journal
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
Landscape Journal

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
  • Alerts
  • ASLA Research Grant
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Visit uwp on Facebook
Research ArticleArticles

The Experience of Sustainable Landscapes

Robert L. Thayer Jr.
Landscape Journal, September 1989, 8 (2) 101-110; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.8.2.101
Robert L. Thayer Jr.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

The evolving concept of the sustainable landscape is a welcome and necessary addition to the philosophy, theory, and practice of landscape architecture. This paper presents a number of arguments relating to the character of sustainable landscapes and the manner in which they may be experienced by people. It argues that mainstream landscape architecture remains driven by “cosmetic” notions of aesthetic quality and that the sustainable landscape movement still represents a “counter-cultural” current in theory, practice, and style. The traditional notion of “aesthetics” is presented as insufficient to describe the totality of the experiential quality of sustainable landscapes. Because of the increasing depth and complexity of what is known about ecological and environmental relationships, the experience of sustainable landscapes will likely be highly dependent upon information content. Sustainable landscapes are unlikely to involve a dominant visual “style” because they are pluralistic, and, of necessity, highly responsive to individual conditions of both culture and ecosystem. However, intentionally designed, sustainable landscapes may sometimes be perceived as violations of existing (i. e., non-sustainable) regional or spatial context. Exact replication of “natural,” un-peopled analogs for landscape design may not always be successful, due to changes wrought by human use. The generation of new sustainable landscapes relies heavily upon creative, artful interpretations of landscape form, and may result in novel formal and spatial character. The perceivable, experiential characteristics of sustainable landscapes will play a significant role in speeding their diffusion into common use.

  • © 1989 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Landscape Journal
Vol. 8, Issue 2
21 Sep 1989
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Advertising (PDF)
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Ed Board (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Landscape Journal.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The Experience of Sustainable Landscapes
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Landscape Journal
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Landscape Journal web site.
Citation Tools
The Experience of Sustainable Landscapes
Robert L. Thayer Jr.
Landscape Journal Sep 1989, 8 (2) 101-110; DOI: 10.3368/lj.8.2.101

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
The Experience of Sustainable Landscapes
Robert L. Thayer Jr.
Landscape Journal Sep 1989, 8 (2) 101-110; DOI: 10.3368/lj.8.2.101
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Environmental Justice as Justification for Landscape Architectural Design
  • Using Native Plants in traditional design contexts: Smilax Smallii Provides an Example
  • Visitor perceptions of ecological design at The Crosby Arboretum, Picayune, Mississippi
  • Yellowstone Hotspot: Reflections on Scenic Beauty, Ecology, and the Aesthetic Experience of Landscape
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • A Tribute to Robert B. Riley 1931–2019
  • Fluid or Fixed? Processes that Facilitate or Constrain a Sense of Inclusion in Participatory Schoolyard and Park Design
  • Diversity and Inclusion by Design: A Challenge for Us All
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

UWP

© 2023 Landscape Journal

Powered by HighWire