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Peter
Walker and Partners: Nasher Sculpture Center Garden,
edited by Jane Amidon.
The third installment in Amidon's Source Books in Landscape
Architecture series focuses on the garden of the Nasher
Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. Home to an amazing
collection of indoor and outdoor
sculpture indicative of a lifelong love of art, the Center
is a rare balance of inside and out, where the building
and the garden work together for the sake of the art. While
the building design by Renzo
Piano drives much of Peter
Walker's garden design, the process involved a respectful
back and forth, apparent in the interviews between the editor
and Walker contained in these pages. These interviews also
give a background on the landscape architect, describe his
love of minimalism, and his thoughts on nature.
Perhaps what's most interesting is the description of the
Nasher garden design itself, especially the way it appears
so natural while being an artificial landscape of the utmost.
It sits atop a parking garage. It hides miles of wiring,
piping and other services. But it also respects the extreme
Texas climate through appropriate plantings and abundant
shade among the paths and artworks
of various scales. Combined with Piano's building, it is
a place well-designed but ultimately respectful of the art
before itself. This creates not only a pleasing environment
but ultimately an ideal opportunity for art appreciation,
a great mirror of the clients themselves.
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