AISHWARYA DEOPUJARI A1904012107

PARKS

RESEARCH PAPER

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Introduction

Park is for the public as the main function in recreation, with certain recreational facilities and service facilities, beautifying the city, perfecting ecological disaster prevention and disaster prevention. According to the main functions of the city park and contents, city parks can be divided into the following:

(a) Comprehensive park (b) Community park (c) Theme park (d) Banding park

With the development of the city, the type of city parks also becomes new, and the ecological parks and its similar one appear, such as industrial landscape parks and ecological parks. With the increasing self- living environment crisis, environmental protection becomes a common sense. Facing the energy, resources and environmental crisis, contemporary urban park enters into "Sustainable development" era.

With the ignoring of modern socialist initial experience, the traditional value has returned to society, and people more attention to their own human cultural value. History protection becomes a common sense. Contemporary landscape design combines with modern socialist spirit, the local traditions and localization.

The rich cultural connotation makes the city park regional, historic and belonging, which is easy to be accepted by people and become an indispensable part of park design.

The city park landscape design is with the behavioral science, "A design must become the necessary principle. Design is fully satisfied people’s behavior, met people’s psychological needs to create the new trend of city park design.

The park is part of urban space, which provides for the public recreational space, and the park landscape local features are formed by natural and social behavior factors. The nonphysical and physical factors also develop by the cities, which shows the endless park landscape way. It is the most representative object that can make people have the historical association and evoke the richest homesick feelings and cultural connotation.

Principles and Factors of designing a Park

City Park is an indispensable space on the development of modern city, which are the densest factors. Meanwhile, it is also the most intense natural zone by the process in human activities and the natural process. During the process of park landscape formation, the natural decisive factors that influence the park landscape’s regional characteristic of occurrence and the development factors include:

(a) The climate(b) Topography(c) Vegetation (d) Rivers and hydrology

The principle for ecological balance: in park planning design, we should try to set up in the full ecological system on the basis of landscape, rationally develop and utilize field. Don’t destroy the original ecological system, and take measures to restore destructed ecological system.

The principle for favorable climate: the climate conditions greatly affect the park’s space use and formation. The most important aspects are the regional climate, seasonal changes and micro climate.

The principle for respecting land: land is the main carrier of landscape, and most of the landscape design is based on the land. With the vigorous development in city’s real estate, urban construction land becomes more and more serious, and the construction land of City Park has become extremely precious. Therefore, respecting the land should be the primary principle for landscape design.

Entire principle: the connection between the city park and downtown should be strengthened to prevent park became an isolated part. Planning park should be connected to the whole city, and the downtown activities should introduced to the park, with the green system, convenient public transport, to keep the continuation of original city.

People-oriented principle: the humanized- design is a trend with contemporary urban planning, design, culture and the ecological environment construction, which is also the basic principle to create all kinds of cultures in modern society.

The principle for sustainable development: the concept for sustainable development

Respects nature and adjustments measures: design for park landscape should be reflected region ecology, including the terrain, topography and climate, etc, which are connected with each other.

Local landscape reflects regional features: local landscape is also known as the "dialect landscape", which is the regional landscape. Its meaning is a complex of natural scenery, rural field, vernacular architecture, folk village and the path, persons and clothes. Township natural soil material is a local climate that adapt to the local climate and soil for a long time. Such materials are sustainable to city's development, and as to landscape design, it is can reflect the economic and local characteristics.

Fully exploiting the regional traditional culture: the landscape design of Regional Park put the intangible context to the tangible park landscape with new vitality, which makes the city park landscape energetic, we can learn it from the following aspects:

(a) To further analysis of the traditional culture park, you must re-understand the process of history.

(b) To extract the historical symbols with local characteristics and representative and create the unique local park.

(c) To use the cultural symbol of history with marking system and landscape design.

The protection and inheritance of historical context: historical sites and ancient building are histories of human beings, which are the testimonies for regional cultural image. There are a lot of historical information and memory in the ancient architecture and historic sites, which are parts of the region tradition.

Showing regional customs: abundant folk culture provides cultural material for the regional landscape design of city parks, but not all types of parks are suitable for any activities. To choose the suitable area of the park, you should:

firstly do investigation for the environment, the historical activities, the current activities and unrealized demands in the park.

Second, you should analyze the adaptability to the current situation of the park activities, such as the scale and size of the park plaza. Third, after putting forward the appropriate activities of park, you should perfect the park facilities; realize the security, uniqueness, and enjoyment, to make the whole park space have a lasting vigor and the historical cultural atmosphere.

Parks- The Indian context

In city there may be parks of several sizes from very large to medium size and also squares or small gardens are generally found at street inter sections. The small gardens or squares are planted with a view to relieving the eyes of the people passing by them or for a short resting period for those who care to use them. Therefore, these may be planted with a path of grass, few flower beds, one or two shades or flowering trees or a group of shrubs and trees. The medium to large parks are meant for a place of recreation and these are considered as lungs of the cities. These should be a place of beauty as well as utility.

Most of the cities in India have developed unplanned and hence there is hardly any space for a large park. But to give the citizens of such cities a breathing place garden or large parks may be laid out in the nearest vicinity of the countryside easily approachable by car or bus or even by bicycle. But in the present day conditions in a developing country like India, it may not be possible to take up such ventures in the immediate furore.

The prospect park as:

(1) A long meadow, which is a park like open space

(2) An undulated and rising hilly section with woodland scenery

(3) A lake and its surroundings

(4) A number of sceneries of objects of beauty.

Good flowering and shade trees should be planted in groups or singly in some comers or other suitable places for creating beauty as well as a place for resting. Garden benches should be constructed at regular intervals especially under the shade of the trees. Few interesting and are shrubs should also be included. Besides these, some garden adornments such as statues and fountains can also be planned in appropriate parts of such parks.

The small city park may be an area any thing between 5 and 100 hectares or little more. A large rural park gives a degree of scolusion from the city but the small city park, as it is situated within the city, has no such characteristic although the features may be the same as that of a large rural park. In the small parks, the scenery created ill not look so natural as those of a large rural park, because of the limitation of space.

The third category of city parks may be called as 'pleasure grounds' which have large reserve areas for playing games, and often" this is the main feature of these parks. A restricted swimming pool is also often a feature of a pleasure ground. If it is meant for the children, features such as swings, see-saw, sliding chute, Mary -go round, etc. should form part of the park.

Buddha Jayanti Park – a case study

It was the year 1957. At a Buddhist conference in the Vigyan Bhavan, Nehru announced the project of designing a park to celebrate 2500 years of Buddha's enlightenment. An international competition was held with most entrants proposing ideas that did not appeal to Nehru. He then turned to his trusted architectural aide, Mansingh Rana for a solution.

Nehru at the Vigyan BhavanConceptMansingh Rana's proposal was for a simple park with an undulating expanse along the upper Ridge Road of Delhi caught the imagination of the Prime Minister. By virtue of the topography, the park could be designed keeping the natural slopes intact and hence creating levels of green experience across the span. Rana's intention was to create a space where visitors would be surrounded by peace and nature- aspects that were central to Buddha's life. 

With the attainment of enlightenment and awakening, Buddha is said to have gained three knowledges that he was previously unacquainted with. 

Insight into his past lives; Insight in the workings of Karma and Reincarnation; and Insight in the Four Noble Truths.

Insight in the Four Noble Truths and the state of reaching 'Nirvana' is the awakening that Buddha attained. These Four Noble Truths are regarded as the central doctrine of Buddhist tradition, and are said to provide a conceptual framework for explaining the nature of 'dukkha', the origin and cessation of 'dukkha' and the path to the cessation of 'dukkha'. The Buddha Jayanti Park to me, seems like a beautiful lyrical translation of this Buddhist discourse to landscape. By the end of your time spent in the Buddha Jayanti Park, you will be sure to have overcome your suffering and anxiety.

Meandering streams flow through the length of the entire park and a a sight to watch. While the flowing water was meant to cool the environment, the sound of the soft streams have a calming effect on the visitors of the park. Influences from Rana's visit to Japan can be seen in the landscape elements that have been designed for the park. He was inspired by the design of the Japanese Zen Garden. Although still considered to be a garden, the Zen style hardly makes use of any greenery. The very word used in Japan for this type of garden (Karensansui) translates as dry water and mountain.

Pebbled Pathway in a Japanese Zen Garden

Concrete Bridge over a dried up stream in Buddha Jayanti Park

Rana's concrete bridges for crossing the numerous streams in the park is influenced by those very Zen gardens that he saw while on his visit to Japan. Each concrete bridge is composed differently, with some designed as a sequence of circles and others in an rectangular order.

The park, placed over a rock layer, has seen may additions since its creation such as the central statue of Buddha, as well as many engraved teachings, quotations of Buddha on stone tablets.

Buddha explaining the teachings to his five core disciples.

Central Buddha StatueOf the hundred odd varieties of trees, the one that stands out inevitably is the sapling of the Bodhi tree of Sri Lanka, which was presented to Nehru by the then prime minister of Sri Lanka, Srimavo Bhandarnaike.

To this day, people visit the park frequently for shade, respite, picnics, or just for a good time. It has however lost most of its streams and lakes to poor maintenance. The lyricism in the concrete benches, the steps, the Streams and the Trees however, still remains.

A view of the central area of the park with the Statue in the Centre

The peace and quiet in the Buddha Jayanti Park reminds of the grounded quality of moksha. The park is one such story, and the paths take you through it in complete serenity.