Routledge Women, Modernity, and Landscape Architecture

Modernity was critically important to the formation and evolution of landscape architecture, yet its histories in the discipline are still being written. This book looks closely at the work and influences of some of the least studied figures of the era: established and less well-known female landscape architects who pursued modernist ideals in their designs. The women discussed in this volume belong to the pioneering first two generations of professional landscape architects and were outstanding in the field. They not only developed notable practices but some also became leaders in landscape architectural education as the first professors in the discipline, or prolific lecturers and authors. As early professionals who navigated the world of a male-dominated intellectual and menial work force they were exponents of modernity. In addition, many personalities discussed in this volume were either figures of transition between tradition and modernism (like Silvia Crowe, Maria Teresa Parpagliolo), or they fully embraced and furthered the modernist agenda (like Rosa Kliass, Cornelia Oberlander). The chapters offer new perspectives and contribute to the development of a more balanced and integrated landscape architectural historiography of the twentieth century. Contributions come from practitioners and academics who discuss women based in USA, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, the former USSR, Sweden, Britain, Germany, Austria, France and Italy. Ideal reading for those studying landscape history, women’s studies and cultural geography. Review With the information it provides, the book fosters future research on the subject that may, in the end, even lead to a com - bined, if not holistic, approach to both the historiographical and practical side of garden design. – Karin Seeber, Journal of Landscape Architecture Editors Dümpelmann (Harvard Univ.) and Beardsley (Dumbarton Oaks) provide an insightful introductory essay about this pioneering collaboration.  The book is thoughtful throughout.  Each chapter is thoroughly footnoted, and a substantial bibliography is included as well. Summing Up: Essential. Graduate, research, and professional collections. - CHOICE, E. H. Teague, University of Oregon Sonja Dümpelmann and John Beardsley are to be commended for bringing an abundance of lesser-known landscape production to our attention. This book should inspire further scholarly scrutiny, not only of the work introduced in this collection but also of related efforts to explore (to repeat their phrase) “the place of women in the emergence of modernist landscape architecture.” - Caroline Constant, Landscape Architecture Magazine Dümpelmann and Beardsley's edited collection traces a broad arc of female landscape architects contributing to the emergence of modern movements globally in the decades before and after World War Two.  The stories they have gathered, which take us from Germany to New Zealand and beyond, offer new perspectives not only on these pioneering figures, but also on the history of landscape architecture as a whole, enabling a richer, more complex understanding of the development of a profession. - Despina Stratigakos, Department of Architecture, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York This book’s excellent essays rely on original source material to fill gaps in the backgrounds of important women landscape architects on five continents. Again and again the essays emphasize how these women’s knowledge of plants and horticulture contributed to the design of twentieth century modernist spaces. Of particular note are essays that underline the contributions of female designers to Europe’s early modernist landscapes. Not only is the book a "must read" for anyone interested in modern landscape design, its introduction should be required reading in all landscape architecture history classes. - Linda Jewell, Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley The