Educational and Commercial Campuses

As part of an extensive commercial and residential development for a section of Harbin, China, the Jin River Park was created over an underground commercial shopping mall and parking. The mall and parking serve the surrounding residential towers. The pyramid landforms seen in Figure 6.26 include skylights to bring natural light to lower underground levels. The geometric forms provide visual relief to what is otherwise an oversized and exposed, paved surface. The pyramidal forms (essentially sections of roof for the mall below) include sufficient soil depth to support plant growth, primarily shrub and perennial species.

Telefónica headquarters is an office campus of high-rise buildings located north of the central historic district of Madrid. The buildings face onto an extensive central landscaped space used by employees and visitors. The space is divided into a series of large outdoor rooms made visually coherent by the extensive tree planting. Several spaces include a water element such as shown in Figure 6.27. In this example a canal appears to transport water from one basin of water to another. The canal and the large column of water visible in the background provide continuous movement and aeration of water. The sound of water provides background ambient noise to dampen the heavy street traffic outside the office complex. Group and individual seating arrangements are located throughout the space to accommodate informal office meetings or a quiet oasis for individuals to have a bit of solitude.

Figure 6.28 shows central open spaces on three different university campuses. All three function as gathering places for students to socialize, eat lunch or have a coffee, and as an outdoor study space. The landscape plantings in Figures 6.28A and 6.28B consist of primarily native plant species. The landscape character of the space at the University of the Algarve captures the spirit of the native upland pine forest of the region while the landscape plantings at the university space in San Francisco are arranged in panels of color, reminiscent of abstract paintings. An abstract painting is a two-dimensional composition that in skilled hands can communicate three-dimensional qualities. The essentially two-dimensional design of this central landscape confines the space to be dominated by the surrounding high-rise classroom buildings. The seating space at Rice University (see Figure 6.28C) is a smaller space than the other two examples. It was designed to be comfortable and intimate and this was achieved by the planting of a dense tree canopy. The canopy provides needed shade. A long, narrow trough of water adds an element of serenity complementing the intimacy and sense of refuge one feels being in the outdoor room.

Figure 6.27 Telefónica headquarters, interior courtyard, Madrid, Spain, by Rafael de La-Hoz Castanys, architect, and Marion Weber, landscape architect.