Charles Jencks, Architecture, Scottish Landscape, Book, Critic, Images, Design

Charles Jencks - Landform, Edinburgh : Information

Architectural Garden Design in Scotland, UK Architecture Critic



Charles Jencks Architecture

ueda - eskers on the lawn

Charles Jencks Landscape - Landform Scotland
Information from Terry Farrell & Partners, Edinburgh

New photos added 7 Aug 2010

No larger image here, click on the link below for larger photos
SNGMA Landform
photo © Adrian Welch

Charles Jencks Landform, Scotland : photos

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Landform Scotland
photo © Adrian Welch

Landform - or Earthworks, or Ueda - won the Gulbenkian Prize in May 2004

This Edinburgh project by world-renowned Architecture critic and theoretician, Charles Jencks, (who lives in the Scottish Borders & London) and Terry Farrell & Partners has been followed on the site at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art from initial images by coevolution to site shots and announcement of grand opening: now the grass is maturing I've taken some photographs in sharp sunlight - the full-sized images are as shot, no added contrast:-

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Landform Earthworks Charles Jencks Edinburgh Charles Jencks SNGMA Earthworks
photographs © Adrian Welch

the formal context to the grand classical building is eroded, lost...fractalised

Charles Jencks
image © Adrian Welch

the starting point, the fractal whirl - here made of pebbles

Landform is apparently influenced by Seurat's famous La Grande Jatte painting from Paris showing families relaxing amidst greenery and water in the heart of the city. Landform by Charles Jencks has proved to be very popular with many, especially children. However, Landform is occasionally closed due to the grass surface which takes some wear and tear, esp. in Winter.

Prior to Charles Jencks' Landform the SNGMA was fronted by a rather staid plane of grass which only really sparkled in Summer when housing a marquee. Jenck's interest in fractal patterns within landscape was probably developed at Maggie Keswick-Jencks' (his wife) Borders home.

Terry Farrell: Urban Design (Architectural Monographs)
Ken Powell (Introduction)
from £52.80
Availability: usually dispatched within 1 to 2 working days
Hardcover 1 pages (Dec 1993) Publisher: Wiley-Academy ISBN: 1854901257
Order Terry Farrell: Urban Design Today

Ten Years, Ten Cities: The Work of Terry Farrell & Partners 1991-2001
Hugh Intro Pearman, Hugh Pearman (Introduction)
List Price: £60
Our Price: £42
Hardcover 320pp (Feb25, 2002) Publisher: Laurence King ISBN: 1856692752
Order Ten Years, Ten Cities Today

Terry Farrell

Gulbenkian Foundation 'Museum of the Year' Prize: Winner - Charles Jencks: Landform, May 2004

Landform Ueda Images by Adrian Welch as above are available for a fee: three images appeared in the German manufacturer Stihl's Annual Report 2004

News excerpts re Charles Jencks' Landform:

Earthworks Complete
SNGMA lawn, Belford Rd
charles jencks sngma earthworks sngma earthworks Charles Jencks Architecture
Ueda: images by Adrian Welch from April 2002

Charles Jencks re Ueda
The Landform Ueda earth sculpture was intended by architecture critic Charles Jencks for picnics and to display other sculpture.
06.08.02

Charles Jencks - Presentation, Edinburgh
Honorary Doctorate by Edinburgh University
To coincide with the publication in May of the new Charles Jencks book, The Iconic Building – incl. commentary on the Scottish Parliament.

Maggies Centres, UK
Charles Jencks sits on the selection committee with Maggies Centres founder Laura Lee: a key architect selected by Charles Jencks was a friend of the late Maggie Keswick-Jencks, Frank Gehry.

Edinburgh

Charles Jencks was born in 1939 and although American has a house in London and Dumfriesshire, Scotland; the latter was the home of his wife, the late Maggie Keswick-Jencks, who sadly died of cancer. Maggie came from a notable Scottish family with links to the founding of Hong Kong. [Hong Kong Architecture]

Charles became famous for his bubble diagram of architecture and for his explanation of what Postmodernism really means within the field of architecture. He took 'Postmodern' from literarture into architecture. Later in his career he became well known for helping lead the Maggies Centres procurement and for his innovative garden design, especially his use of grassy spiral mounds. Jencks studied English Literature at Harvard and Architectural History in London


Charles Jencks - Books
The Language of Post-Modern Architecture
Towards a Symbolic Architecture
The Architecture of a Jumping Universe

Prospect Debate on Iconic Architecture
21.04.05
Charles Jencks was a speaker in Glasgow, Scotland, alongside Miles Glendinning and Austin Williams

 




Iconic Architecture

Modern Architects

Iconic Buildings

Architectural Critics - Selection

Alain de Botton
Jeremy Till Architecture
Jonathan Glancey



Grassy spiral mounds are to be found at the Scottish home of critic Charles Jencks near Dumfries (private), in Edinburgh and in Inverness at the Maggies Centre.

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Charles Jencks - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

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