Elizabeth B. Kassler (1911–1998)

At the time of this review, I'm writing a book on landscape architecture, a subject that has – off and on – held my interest as much as buildings over the years (I actually went to college for landscape architecture but changed just before the halfway-point). Given that the book spans the last one hundred years, my research has encompassed modern landscapes of the mid-20th-century, not just contemporary landscapes. One book I picked up is Modern Gardens and the Landscape by Elizabeth Kassler, a former curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Although the book features many landscapes that have been lost with time, many of the projects still survive and serve as important markers in the development of modern landscape architecture. More than the selection of projects itself, the value of the book (for me) lies in the criteria that led to their selection. Not surprisingly, this often means big names (Le Corbusier, Wright, Roberto Burle Marx, Luis Barragan, SOM), but the occasional, little-known gem is still to be found in its pages.

Projects are broken up into seven chapters (the outdoor room, parks and plazas, the view from above, gardens and flower gardens, gardens in a natural landscape, constructed landscapes, buildings and the land) and are documented through b/w photos and captions. Kassler's introduction that contextualizes modern gardens through time and geography rounds out this slim volume.… (mais)