Perhaps the most influential landscape architect of the last several decades died yesterday at the age of 93. Lawrence Halprin was innovative, inspiring and prolific until the end. I saw him speak in San Francisco 2 years ago and was really moved by his humour and insight. He was a designer who could marry beauty with ecological and social function.
“My own way has been to design the outward forms of nature but emphasize the results of the processes of nature…This act of transmuting the experience of the natural landscape into human-made experience is, for me, the essence of the art of landscape design.”
He was responsible for the 'alternative' Sea Ranch community plan in the 1960's which was inspired by and responsive to the wind, ocean and cliffs. Its design manual prohibited perimeter fences and non-native plants. Read his biography from The Natural Landscape Foundation.
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