LA 166 Lecture Outline 1/10/07 & 1/12/07

 

 

Nourishment from the Past: Renaissance Gardens of Italy

 

     The Italian Renaissance villa garden

 

     Relationship of house, garden, and countryside in a single composition

 

     Physical links: house to garden

 

     Visual links: villa to natural environment

 

     Outdoor activity opportunity for recreation and exercise

 

     Principles of siting

      Hillside locations

      Views

      Interventions

      Scale and proportion

      Blending new development with natural environment

 

      Examples:

 

     Villa Medici Fiesole

     Villa D’Este

     Villa Lante

 

     Design of the Renaissance villa: opportunities and constraints:

 

      Site location

                  Visual stimulation

 

      Climate

                  Health vs. Heat

 

      The presence of water

 

     Geometric principles

 

     Garden elements—linked to a broader itinerary, others as isolated decorative components created simply for pleasure.

 

     Contributions of Renaissance design:

                  Spatial organization

 

      Individual parts maintain their distinctiveness and at the same time they are united with axes, vistas, the repetition of elements, bilateral symmetry, and other means like water, trees, and sculpture.