Landscape architecture - history, ideas, theories, jobs and careers > Landscape Architecture Debate > Context sensitive architecture, landscape, urban design and garden design

How should a design project relate to its context?

Sensitively! - to the surrounding architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, garden design, community, geography, fauna, flora, climate, etc. But in each case the designed relationship can be on of Similarity, Identity or Difference - and designers should state which policy they are adopting, when, why and in which respects. For an essay on context design theory see: Context and design

For a general note of context theory see: Context theory for landscape architecture and urban design

Books on context-sensitive design

Two favourites, both relating to Japan are:

Isozaki, Arata Japan-ness in architecture MIT Press, 2006
NoseÌ, Michiko Rico, The modern Japanese garden London : Mitchell Beazley, 2005

Japan has been wrestling with the problem of context-sensitivity for a long time. The impression given in the above two books is that the architects have had great difficulty in finding solutions but the garden designers have done very well. The advantage they have is that responding to the special characteristics of a place has always been a necessary aspect of garden design theory and garden design practice.