Martha Schwartz - Whiteread Institute "Slice Garden", Cambridge

 

Looking at Martha Schwartz’s work was important to me when presenting a variety of designers through my research. This is because Schwartz comes from an art background and chooses to not take Landscape Architecture so seriously. She instead breaks the norms and pushes the boundaries of what people are able to present as a garden. The above for example had “Constraints” as its leading inspiration. This was due to large constraints that the building had, for example there was no water access, no large budget, no maintenance, and it wasn’t able to bare weight. (Portland Architecture, n.d.) These are all fundamental things that are needed to build a traditional garden, especially the water access. She states that this garden is half a Zen Garden and half a French baroque garden. Although I appreciate the novelty of such a garden I do not thing it can be used, it’s definitely not inviting either. Supposedly workers of the building are able to sit out and enjoy their lunch here. I’m not sure anyone would be wanting to do that. While I won’t be implementing many of Schwartz’s design choices, I do think she plays an important role in shaping the future of landscapes and breaking the norms of design.

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