Diana Balmori is now regarded by many scholars as one of the most prominent landscape designs not only in the United States but all over the world as. Among her most famous works, it is possible for us to single out the following ones: designs for Nervion River in Spain, St, Luis Waterfront, and many others. Yet, before analyzing the major peculiarities of her style, it is of crucial importance for us to discuss the major tenets of landscape architecture because as any kind of visual art it has certain laws and principles, which should be adhered to.
Overall, it should be mentioned, that landscape architecture is supposed to serve two purposes. First, we may speak about its aesthetic function, which means that it must give pleasure to the viewer. Secondly, urban design is supposed to optimize the space for human activities (Treib, 22). Diana Balmori skillfully combines both these aspects. Certainly, in the age of modernity, the preference is usually given to utility, but the author eloquently demonstrates that aesthetics and usefulness are entirely compatible with each other.
The most common feature of practically all her projects is the tendency to create an amalgam of the urban landscape and natural environment. At first glance, this statement may seem rather unusual to say the least, because any landscape architect seeks to create such unity, especially if we are speaking about the gardens. Nonetheless, as a rule, gardens are considered only as supplementation to urban construction, whereas Diana Balmori believes that they should an inseparable part of any urban landscape (Diana Balmori, 44).
The landscape is often called “the second nature” (John Dixon Hunt, 1). Such definition was adopted many centuries ago, it is supposed to prove that a human being is able to turn a chaotic environment into a logical structure, which will eventually become a subject to human laws. There have always been many approaches to the so-called natural landscape. Yet, we may say that in the overwhelming majority of cases, people tended to organize the environment like an orderly symmetrical structure (Cantor, 71). Yet, as it is widely know any symmetry is entirely alien to nature. The tendency to adapt natural environment to the urban laws still remains the most dominant one. In sharp contrast, Diana Balmori supports the idea that that the balance should be achieved between these two elements (Diana Balmori, 18).
What she intends to find is the golden mean between order and disorder. Naturally, gardens cannot be planted in the city in their primordial chaos; in this case the functioning of any city would have become entirely impossible. Diana Balmori believes that the main task of any urban designer is to find this medium. In order to show that such goal can be easily achieved, we may refer to her work in Bilbao, the park, which has been designed by the architect, encircles the living area; it turns into some kind of a green belt, which virtually engulfs the buildings. The main difference is that the recreational areas are usually separated from the main streets of the city, while Diana Balmori shows that there is no need to draw such a clear distinction between them.
Certainly, landscape architecture mostly springs from the so-called epoch of environment, “the age of reason”, as it is also known. The representatives of this epoch tried to prove that every phenomenon can be organized according to some laws. It stands to reason, that the principles which were earlier developed, cannot be fully rejected. Yet, it seems that Diana Balmori looks at them from different light. She shows that it is possible to establish harmonious relation between them. Her “green roofs” is probably the most eloquent example, substantiating this statement. According to Balmori it may be called “the fifth façade”.
One of the most distinctive features of Diana Balmoris style is her tendency to create the so-called “green roofs”, which means that the roof of the building is covered with the soil or vegetation. To some extent, such approach is almost a ground-breaking technique, because according to the traditional rules of landscape architecture, the structure and the landscape should be separated. Certainly, they may complement each other; nonetheless, a clear line should be drawn between them.
Balmori shows how urbanity can be incorporated into nature. Again, it should be borne in mind that the vegetation on the roofs of the buildings serves some other function, namely it saves the city from air pollution and subsequent suffocation. Furthermore, it prevents the building, itself from overheating. Naturally, we cannot say that this technique is entirely unprecedented because in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many villagers used green roofs, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, it was typical of rustic landscape, but not of the urban one. Among her most famous works and projects, performed in this style, we may primarily speak about the Guggenheim building in Bilbao.
However, it is not always easy to build such construction because not every building is designed for such purposes. Moreover, it should be noted that while perfuming such difficult task, the architect has to consider the planning of the street. Under certain circumstances, it is impermissible to install green roof, because the may easily shut the light to adjacent buildings. This is why it is so important to plan the architecture of the city as a complex.
In this respect, it should be noted that her intention to weave urban structure into environment is reflected in her famous linear parks in New Haven. This project eloquently proves the statement that it is possible to place a city into a garden but not vice versa. The author sets a stress on the idea, gardens should not be regarded only as some isles of vegetation in a big city; on the contrary, they may easily encompass the city, itself, though such project naturally requires substantial funding. Any architect, intending to turn the city into a garden or park, should be absolutely certain that, it will not bring the city, itself to a standstill.
In addition to that, one should always realize the whole complexity of landscape architecture in order to discuss the peculiarities of Balmoris works. In point of fact, her projects are always intertwined with those ones of other architects. As a rule such kind of visual arts as urban design involves natural sciences, technical engineering, master planning, etc. In her book “Land and Natural Development” Diana Balmori thoroughly discusses problems, which may arise in connection with any urban design project, for instance the applicability of any idea to a particular situation. Perhaps, this is the main obstacle, which landscape architects have to surmount.
Probably, it would be better for us to discuss one of the most famous works by Diana Balmori, the Saint Luis Waterfront. Many scholars believe that it is by far the most complicated project, done by this landscape architect. Its essence lies in the following: the garden serves as a transition between the water and the city. Actually, they seem to merge into one another. Apart from that, the garden itself creates a gate or probably it would be better to say a pathway into the city. The quay is also saturated with trees, which makes it look like a garden or at least its part. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this project is an example of such amalgam of the “first and second nature, which Diana Balmori seeks to find.
Therefore, it is quite possible for us to arrive at the conclusion that as a urban designer, Diana Balmori seeks to merge urban landscape and natural environment. Her works can be discussed not only in terms of their aesthetic qualities but in terms of their utility as well, because the architect always attempts to attain the equilibrium between the artistry and usefulness. Furthermore, it should be taken into account that her works are always an inseparable part of more complex projects, thus, it is more prudent to discuss them in connection with other projects. In addition to that, Diana Balmoris works show that that it is possible to create an amalgam of urban structures and natural environment.
Bibliography
Diana Balmori, Gaboury Benoit. “Land and Natural Development (LAND) Code: Guidelines for Sustainable Land Development” John Wiley and Sons, 2007.
John Dixon Hunt.” Gardens and the Picturesque: Studies in the History of Landscape Architecture”. MIT Press, 1994.
Malcolm Andrews. “Landscape and Western Art”. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Marc Treib. “Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review” MIT Press, 1994.
Steven L. Cantor. “Contemporary Trends in Landscape Architecture”. John Wiley and Sons, 1996.