The Role of Integration of Architecture and Landscape in Shaping Contemporary Urban Spaces

Abstract

The public spaces of many cities and towns face numerous problems, manifested by the broadly understood disintegration of both social and spatial aspects (e.g. vanishing neighbourhood bonds and communities, the anonymity of the individual within the city space, and the commercialization or neglect of public spaces). The search for methods for the broadly understood integration in space proves necessary, and even the precondition for harmonious development and the effective functioning of a community. Integration of architecture and landscape can be understood and interpreted spatially in different ways. It is pursued not only through references to organic shapes, but also through the use of the site context in order to blend the architecture with its surroundings, to make references to historical and cultural motifs, the use of which allows people to create spaces that are functionally and narratively coherent, to "domesticate» the space by introducing the idea of agrarian urbanism, urban gardening and agriculture into the urbanised space, combining ecological solutions with art, allowing the passing time for a slow but permanent blurring of differences between cultural and natural elements, as well as using symbolism and philosophy. The purpose of this article is: to show the possibility of interpreting the integration of architecture and landscape and to introduce its new definition based on literature studies and analysis of selected architectural projects; to analyse and evaluate two selected examples of development concepts in the context of the adopted original definition of the integration of architecture and landscape (as a synergy of spatial factors); to identify the universal factors (actions) whose synergistic function contributes to the integration of architecture and landscape. These objectives are pursued based on the bibliographical analysis (interpretative studies) and axiological studies (including studies of source materials and field observations) of the two selected development concepts. For the purposes of the studies original definition of integration of architecture and landscape as a mutual complementation and strengthening of elements acting in a synergy was formulated. Each case has been analysed for the manifestation of values relevant to the adopted definition. As a result, actions integrating the architecture and the landscape in these examples and the universal factors whose synergistic function contributes to the integration of architecture and landscape were identified.