This blog entry is again on one of the practitioners highlighted in 'Between Landscape Architecture and Land Art'. Professor Peter Latz (b 1939) is the son of an Architect and grew up in the ruins of postwar Germany. This, together with the imperative to grow food for the family (he developed an orchard then sold it to fund his studies), has clearly influenced him. This is a landscape architect truly interested and knowledgeable about plants. His work could be seen as merely rehabilitating industrial sites, but is it more transformative than that. To quote Weilacher (p121)he 'rejects ideas which seek to portray in terms of a bygone Arcadian ideal. Instead he points out the value of everyday nature, claiming it has much to offer our day to day life -more than cultivated sterility which forever has to fulfill functional criteria' Latz claims to embrace natural processes -for instance the erosion of a slag heap rather than preserving the form, and in two of his most prominent early projects (' Hafeninsel' or 'Harbour Island' and 'Duisburg North Landscape Park' has actively incorporated remaining structures and materials as well as celebrating the (sometimes quite rare) plants that had come to flourish on the contaminated sites. The latter was a 200 hectare iron and steel plant which closed in 1985. During its redevelopment former employees and their families were employed and involved. It opened 25 years ago and has now become an international attraction, included by Rowan Moore in his 2015 'Guardian' article as one of the ten best urban gardens, alongside parks in Sao Paulo, Paris, Florence and the Summer Palace gardens in Beijing. 'Duisburg Nord' however also includes a climbing wall, cycle tracks, a scuba diving pool and a concert venue. Most of the many visitors are there to enjoy the varied garden areas within the historical site. In the 2020 interview Latz said that keeping those traces of the past was important "there are many stories from the past, all very different....this gives them room to be told" These images are all of 'Duisburg Nord' . This park is not, at over 400 acres, on a domestic scale but it is made up of a number of smaller areas (almost garden rooms). He has worked within these to create a huge variety of spaces responding to what was already there - the 'syntax of landscape'. I particularly liked his discussion with Weilacher, when he refers to "using the whole repertoire of garden art", and his use of temporary planting whilst another (such as a ribbon of roses) matures and takes its place in the design. There are over 700 plant species in the park - this is no manicured landscape where plants are incidental. He quotes influences such as Italian Renaissance gardens - good examples of both structure and planting - in his work. No wonder 'Duisburg Nord' has also featured in BBC Gardeners World, when Peter Latz was interviewed and gave the second quote above. I look forward to visiting. Gardeners World BBC 2. broadcast 3rd October 2020, now available to view on Facebook.
Moore, R. The 10 best. The Guardian. Manchester. 7th August 2015 Weilacher, U, "Between Landscape Architecture and Land Art". Birkhauser. Basel Berlin Boston 1999
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AuthorI am indulging my passion for ceramics by undertaking studies for an MA at UCLAN Archives
August 2021
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