Landscape: Pattern, Perception and Process

Simon Bell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136318900
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Aménagement urbain et paysager

Landscapes develop and evolve through an interacting series of processes – climatic, geological, ecological and cultural – over varying periods of time. These processes shape the structure and character of the landscapes which we experience. Over time, distinctive patterns emerge – ranging in scale from the distribution of small plants to the sculptured sides of a huge canyon. Our perception of these patterns goes beyond just their visual appreciation – beautiful though they may be – into a richer understanding of how we experience our environment.

By understanding this complex pattern–process interaction we can obtain a deeper awareness of landscape and our place in it – as inhabitants and as shapers. The book explores the nature of patterns and ways of classifying them before studying the nature of perception (primarily visual but including other senses), then proceeds to relate this perception to aesthetics and from there to the design process. From this point the main driving processes in landscape are introduced alongside the resulting patterns, these being climatic, landform, ecosystem and cultural aspects.

It is this integrative approach of looking at landscape as a kind of self-organising system, overlaid by conscious human planning activities and the unity of pattern and process, which makes this book unique. Landscape draws from a wide range of neighbouring disciplines, of which the landscape planner or designer needs to be aware, but which are often taught as distinct elements. Bell binds these fundamentals together, which enables the landscape to be 'read', and this reading to be used as the basis for planning and design.

This second edition updates and refreshes the original material with added sections and new photos, particularly making use of the developments in satellite photography. Featuring full colour throughout, this textbook is ideal for anyone studying landscape architecture or any of the disciplines which intersect with the landscape, and which affect it.

Patterns are All Around Us

When we study the world around us we realize that it is not a random collection of objects that have arrived at their position by chance. Patterns are everywhere, and it is by recognizing them that we can orientate ourselves, try to make sense of the world and predict the way that certain actions might occur. Without the ability to perceive patterns, the human race would not have been as successful in coping with a wide range of circumstances and occupying a significant proportion of the world’s climatic zones. Not only are we observers and users of patterns but we are also pattern creators, both unconsciously in our everyday behaviour and consciously as planners and designers. Often we gain our aesthetic pleasure from associating patterns with meanings, especially patterns possessing strong qualities of structure. When patterns are no longer evident or cannot be predicted we may become disorientated and worried. The failure to perceive order and structure in an unknown city can upset a visitor in the same way that an apparently homogeneous forest can be completely confusing to an unobservant wanderer.

Patterns are evident at a very wide range of scales from the molecular structure of DNA, at the microscopic level, to the spirals of galaxies in the universe. On the other hand, an examination of patterns reveals a surprisingly narrow range of pattern archetypes that occur everywhere. This applies both to natural patterns and to those produced by people over the millennia, although it could be argued that many people simply copied their ideas from nature. A major challenge is to understand the processes that create such a wide occurrence of a limited number of patterns and their interrelationships.

Figure 1.1 Three examples of natural patterns which occur at a wide range of scales but have remarkable similarities: (a) A spiral galaxy some millions of light years in diameter, formed as the forces responsible for the formation of stars cause them to be hurled outwards. (Source: NASA.) (b) The spiralling pattern formed as heat energy in the atmosphere intensifies the vortex of wind and cloud to form a hurricane some hundreds of miles/kilometres in diameter. (Source: NASA.) (c) The spiral shape of a snail shell is the natural pattern formed as the animal grows.

How is it possible for a spiral form to be the same in a galaxy, caused by complex interactions of gravitational forces operating over millions of light years, a tropical storm a hundred miles across that absorbs its heat energy from the ocean and the spiral shell of a snail a few centimetres in diameter responding to growth hormones (Figure 1.1)? The answer lies in the fundamental numerical relationships which represent their essence, such as gradients of energy and the way material fills space economically. Numbers provide a common link and go a long way to explain the eloquence and beauty found in such forms. The human construction of a spiral (or, more correctly, helical) staircase incorporates exactly the same numerical relationships of angles and proportions as are found in the DNA helix, the snail shell or the branches of a fir tree.

Whilst the perception of the abstract beauty of these universal patterns is real, we need to be aware that it is not sufficient to admire them solely because they exist. In recent years there has been a series of books celebrating natural patterns, using stunning photographs. These often compare and connect very different classes of object, because they have the same superficial appearance.

However, beneath each of the patterns we observe lie the processes which created them. There is a complex interdependency between the processes associated with a wide range of patterns. Some processes possess feedback systems while others are hierarchically related in scale. Some operate over different cycles of time, where the patterns created by one process become the starting point for another. The new science of complexity and of self-organized systems can be difficult to understand because its mathematics is complicated. I have tried to keep explanations as relevant and as simple as possible while endeavouring to reveal the fascinating aspects lying beneath the surface.

What Are Patterns?

The dictionary offers various definitions of ‘pattern’, each of which is relevant to the subject of this book:

• an arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts, decorative motifs, etc.
• a decorative design
• a style
• a plan or diagram used as a guide in making something
• a standard way of moving or acting
• a model worthy of imitation
• a representative sample.

An arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts, decorative motifs, etc. The repetition of similar parts can be seen everywhere, in field patterns, in city layouts and architecture, in mountain peaks, or in ripple marks on sand. Decorative motifs have been used for many thousands of years. This is an important aspect of the definition, since it demonstrates how, in the main, we attempt to make sense of our surroundings or use patterns to create order. Both approaches involve seeking order, not chaos.

A decorative design. One of our most powerful urges is to make ourselves and our surroundings attractive through the use of decoration. There could be many varieties: realistic or abstract, traditional or modern, timeless or ephemeral. Often there are strong relationships between decorative patterns created by humans and those found in the natural world.

A style. One of the myths about design is that it is concerned solely with visual appearance which is subject to the whims of fashion. Certainly there are styles that are short lived in their popularity, but there are also enduring ones that have stood the test of time. It is the latter that are of most interest.

A plan or a diagram used as a guide in making something. All through history people have borrowed patterns and used them to make materials, products, buildings and landscapes. The source of these patterns can be determined by many factors, but there are two main ones: nature and human creativity. It is the connection between these two, the use of nature’s patterns as a guide for landscape restoration and the means of creativity, that is a central theme in this book.

A standard way of moving or acting. Patterns can be dynamic; people, animals, water and wind can all move according to standard patterns, determined by physical forces, the environment, social structures or economic imperatives. Principles can be determined for some, while others are uncertain or occur within a range of probabilities.

A model worthy of imitation. This can reveal fascinating possibilities, whether as a model of economic or political structures or as a model of natural structures and processes that fit a particular place and time. One of the purposes of this book is to examine how far some models can be used in space, over time and between different scales.

A representative sample. We can often learn by looking at samples of ecosystems or settlement patterns, and extrapolating the application of these patterns to other places. Representative samples of natural habitats have been adopted as the basis for many land protection strategies, such as those recommended for retention by the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Report).

Towards an Understanding of Patterns in an Uncertain World

The processes at work in the world produce landscapes where everything is in a constantly dynamic state. The competition for resources, the interaction of organisms with each other and with inorganic, physical processes, the cycles of carbon, nitrogen and water, together with a wide range of weathering and erosion activities, combine to drive the engine of the biosphere fuelled by the energy of the sun and of nuclear reactions deep in the earth. Out of this endlessly shifting cycle of growth and decay, a myriad of patterns is apparent, evolving at various rates into an uncertain future. Humans are part of this world and contribute to the patterns and processes to varying degrees.

This uncertainty is an important concept, as experience indicates that everything is determined by possibilities and probabilities: the likelihood of a fire burning a forest, of an avalanche burying some animals, of a volcano erupting and covering an area with hot ash or of a hard winter killing a late-hatched brood of baby birds. Some of the events that alter the evolution of landscape are more predictable than others, in the sense that they are significantly more likely than unlikely to occur. Some are unexpected, only because we have not experienced them before. Others follow regular, or nearly regular, cycles. Few are completely random.

The understanding of the patterns to be explored in this book depends on, firstly, our perception as human beings with an average lifespan of three score years and ten, based on around 5000 years of civilization; and secondly, our perception as determined by the acuteness of the various senses we possess, our physical size relative to our surroundings and our position in the world when we experience it. Until recently (since the advent of balloons, aircraft and manned spacecraft), we could only see the earth from ground level. The maximum range of visibility was only possible from a high point, perhaps looking down from a hill or mountain top. Our views from lower elevations such as a valley, looking horizontally or upwards, were more limited, especially if the landscape was covered in forest. Therefore we are naturally conditioned to relate to the scale of a scene visible from a single point, if we are stationary, or a continuously changing series of points, if we are moving. We are also limited by the focusing ability of our eyes and the limits to the lateral view imposed by the horizon, atmospheric haze, the curvature of the earth’s surface or intervening landforms and objects. We obtain a three-dimensional view looking forwards as a result of our stereo vision, originally suited to hunters of high intellect but limited physical strength, who needed sharp eyes for the clear detection of still and moving prey over long distances.

However, since we can now see the world at a much larger scale from space or aircraft and by contrast can also focus on its minute structure through microscopes, our sense of pattern and structure is immensely enhanced. Readers will notice I have used sets of illustrations throughout the book that give a view of patterns both from the air and from ground level. Sometimes these are different views of the same landscapes giving us a range of perspectives to consider. Interestingly, some mediaeval artists made attempts to visualize ‘bird’s eye’ views of landscapes and designs, to imagine how they would look from the air even though they knew they would never see the view. They realized that seeing the bigger picture aided their understanding and that of their viewers.

Whilst the external appearance of the earth has been known reasonably accurately for centuries and depicted on globes, the patterns showing vegetation zones, river basins and coastlines have been relatively crudely portrayed. Now, from orbiting spacecraft, we can obtain accurate views of the largest useful scale of pattern that can be perceived: the continental level (Figure 1.2). From this altitude, especially from the higher orbits or the more distant scene once obtained from moon trips, it is possible to observe the gradual change from one vegetation type to another, and to identify zones of transition that are subtly graded to express the changes determined by altitude and latitude, drainage, rainfall, temperature and humidity. Modern space technology, such as remote sensing cameras, also allows these patterns to be observed at successively larger magnifications, until the current maximum resolution of a few metres is reached. The development of Google Earth has now made the examination of patterns at many scales available to everyone and a number of images used in this edition are taken from this amazing resource, developed since the first edition came out.

At the other extreme, a botanist with a magnifying glass might be observing a cluster of s...