As a landscape designer/architect Loredana works on landscape, garden and outdoor design projects ranging in type and scale - from small intimate courtyards to large infrastructure developments.
Landscape architecture is the art, planning, design, management , preservation and rehabilitation of the land and the design of human-made constructs.
The history of landscape architecture is related to the history of gardening but is not coextensive. Both arts are concerned with the composition of planting, landform, water, paving and other structures but:
* garden design is essentially concerned with enclosed private space (parks, gardens etc)
* landscape design is concerned with the design of enclosed space, as well as unenclosed space which is open to the public (town squares, country parks, park systems, greenways etc).
The Romans undertook landscape architecture on an extensive scale, and Vitruvius wrote on many topics (eg the layout of towns) which still concern landscape architects. As with the other arts, it was not until the Renaissance that garden design was revived, with outstanding examples including the pleasure grounds at the Villa d'Este, Tivoli. The renaissance garden developed through the 16th and 17th centuries, reaching an ultimate grandeur in the work of André le Nôtre at Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles.
In the 18th century, England became the focus of a new style of landscape design. Figures such as William Kent, Humphry Repton, and most famously Lancelot 'Capability' Brown remodelled the great estate parks of the English gentry to resemble a neat and tidy version of nature. Many of these parks remain today. The term 'landscape architecture' was first used by the Scotsman Gilbert Laing Meason in the title of his book on The Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy (London, 1828). It was about the type of architecture found in landscape paintings. The term "landscape architecture" was then taken up by JC Loudon and AJ Downing.
Through the 19th century, urban planning became more important, and it was the combination of modern planning with the tradition of landscape gardening that gave Landscape Architecture its unique focus.
Landscape architecture continues to develop as a design discipline, and has responded to many of the movements of design and architecture through the 20th century. Today, a healthy level of innovation continues to provide challenging design solutions for streetscapes, parks and gardens.
Landscape architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, which includes: geography, mathematics, science, engineering, art, horticulture, technology, social sciences, politics, history, philosophy and occasionally zoology. The activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of public parks and parkways to site planning for corporate office buildings, from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infrastructure and the management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape architects work on all types of structures and external space - large or small, urban or rural, and with "hard"/"soft" materials, hydrology and ecological issues.
The breadth of the professional task that landscape architects collaborate on is very broad, but some examples of project types include:
* The planning, form, scale and siting of new developments
* Civil design and public infrastructure
* Stormwater management including rain gardens, green roofs and treatment wetlands
* Campus and site design for institutions
* Parks, botanical gardens, arboretums, greenways, and nature preserves
* Recreation facilities like golf courses, theme parks and sports facilities
* Housing areas, industrial parks and commercial developments
* Highways, transportation structures, bridges, and transit corridors
* Urban design, town and city squares, waterfronts, pedestrian schemes, and parking lots
* Large or small urban regeneration schemes
* Forest, tourist or historic landscapes, and historic garden appraisal and conservation studies
* Reservoirs, dams, power stations, reclamation of extractive industry applications or major industrial projects
* Environmental assessment and landscape assessment, planning advice and land management proposals.
* Coastal and offshore developments
The most valuable contribution is often made at the earliest stage of a project in generating ideas and bringing flair and creativity to the use of space. The landscape architect can contribute to the overall concept and prepare an initial master plan, from which detailed designs can subsequently be prepared. He or she can also let and supervise contracts for construction work, prepare design impact assessments, conduct environmental assessments or audits and act as an expert witness at inquiries on land use. He or she can also support or prepare applications for capital or revenue funding grants.