Garrett Eckbo: Modern Landscapes for Living

Treib and Imbert offer a rare insight into the man who lead the movement to modern landscape design. Where formerly, landscape design rested on a strict axial orientation, with Eckbo's brilliant influence, this rigidness exploded into designs more like Wassily Kandinsky compositions. No other designer has played a greater part in the development of modern landscape design. Just looking at the intricate, beautifully hand-drawn landscape architectural drawings he made, from small-scale gardens to large-scale parks, is a big treat. The authors integrate Eckbo's writings into the text, as well, to give us a sense of this apparently, humble, yet, brilliant man's thoughts and process. This is a wonderful book for someone interested in the history and dynamics of landscape design, or someone just developing a small garden. This is also a great addition to the library of the mid-century design enthusiast or scholar. For me, beginning to understand the underpinnings of landscape design, as well as the social value of public landscape design through Eckbo's eyes and mind, made a world of difference in my approach to seeing or modifying space of any kind. This is a quiet, illuminating and wonderful book.