The Development of Landscape Architecture
- August 16th, 2011
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Landscape architecture is a profession that originally developed from gardening and grounds keeping. In the Middle Ages, the wealthy and royalty employed gardeners to look after their property. The task of these workers was rather limited and their goal was simply to arrange plants, bushes and trees in an interesting and pleasing manner. The notion that the landscape itself could be modified would not develop until the industrial revolution. With the advent of heavy machinery, hills could be constructed or removed and lakes could be built. With such permanent modifications being made to the soil, the arrangement of features upon it came to be considered more permanent. Suddenly, landscape architect jobs consisted of planning how a property would look for the next hundred years. This paralleled the development of the municipal park, whose goal it was to please the public and many architects found careers in beautifying cities was more lucrative and rewarding than working on small projects for the rich.