The Landscape Matrix: Urban Landscape Networks as Frameworks for Collage Cities

City development and its transforming effect on the landscape is a dynamic process. However, through reasons including both deep emotional sentiments of topophilia and practical, marketing-oriented needs of place recognition, we struggle to establish, maintain, and even recreate images of cities and identities with cities that give an impression of continuity and endurance.Over several years of observing the transformation of Leipzig, Germany and its surroundings, the author has witnessed the all too frequent tendency to resort to clichés of architectural icons and marketing monikers to create an easily recognizable image of a place. These images have marketing value. However they are merely selective snap shots that fall short of generating deeper, sensual experiences of a city and its complexity.The monikers and their architectural representations are significant in the historical development of the city. But they are only scenes in an epic drama within a particular landscape. As most cities, Leipzig is much more complex, a true “Collage City.” The urban landscape can be the matrix that holds the elements of the collage together. Understanding the natural ecology and the centuries of human interaction with the landscape can lead to more complex, yet cohesive expression than the single periodic, architectural representations. From the Leipzig case study some suggestions for planning and designing urban landscape networks begin to emerge.The proposal within this paper implies a need for a deeper understanding of both natural and human ecologies than is emphasized in contemporary architectural education. The author closes by calling for a stronger landscape ecology agenda in architectural education and outlines his current efforts within his institution.

Volume Editors
Marilys R. Nepomechie & Robert Gonzalez

ISBN
0-935502-54-8