Oases in the Desert. HS 2013 V02 · Hortus conclusus. Sketch Christophe Girot Oases in the Desert....
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Hortus conclusus. Sketch Christophe Girot Oases in the Desert. HS 2013 V02 Gardens of the Hydraulic Civilisations theory lab lecture series Flower beds of an excavated egyptian garden. In: Carroll (2003) We saw last time how Western landscape architecture was derived from two basic spatial archetypes, that of the early forest clearing and that of the first walled garden. We are now going to look more in detail at the development of early hydraulic ci- vilizations and how they determined the basis of geometric and spatial thinking in landscape architecture. It all starts with the significant human transformations that occurred across the fertile crescent around 5000 years B.C. This is where the structu- ring of the land starts through tentative hydraulic works. This is also the moment of the first sedentary inhabitations, which mark a fundamental shift in societal evolution. The walled garden, also called »paradeisia« or paradise in ancient Persian language, becomes the essential ingredient of early sedentary settlements. It requires the precise organization of people and production throughout the seasons and modifies consi- derably early tribal structures. This is also the time where writing, calculating and geometry on clay tablets occur for the first time. We have kept to this day the funda- mental elements of geometry and time from this period. For instance, the units of time that divide a day in twelve double hours, and each hour in sixty minutes come directly to us from the most remote Sumerian times. The same can be said of trigonometry with its division of the circle in 360°, and trigonometry which the pythagorian school borrowed directly from Sumerian sources 3000 years earlier. The relationship bet- ween space, time and written law becomes the fundamental key to the success of the early hydraulic societies. Rations of water are organized and distributed to different patches of arable land throughout the day, this in turn ensures the existence of pro- ductive and flourishing gardens year round. Those who calculate and write the laws of distribution tend not to be the same as those who work the land. With the early walled garden comes also one of the strongest symbols of propriety and hierarchical political organization. The walled garden conceived first and foremost for the early subsistence purposes of the tribe, gradually develops as the magical pleasure ground of the powerful chosen few. Whether we refer to Anatolia with the early settlements of Catal Huyuk, and Mesopotamia with the cities of Mari, Ur and Eden or even Egypt with Thebes, Giseh and Luxor. Each of the examples reveal different facets of the symbolic organization of nature. The almighty power of the walled garden has indeed transpired in monotheistic religious belief to this day. We all behold the promise and hope of some lost paradise for the eternity to come. © Christophe Girot 2013 Landschaftsarchitektur HS 2013 Seite 01 www.girot.arch.ethz.ch www.facebook.com/LandscapeArchitectureETHZurich
Transcript of Oases in the Desert. HS 2013 V02 · Hortus conclusus. Sketch Christophe Girot Oases in the Desert....
Hortus conclusus.Sketch Christophe Girot
Oases in the Desert. HS 2013 V02 Gardens of the Hydraulic Civilisations
theory lab lecture series
Flower beds of an excavated egyptian garden. In: Carroll (2003)
We saw last time how Western landscape architecture was derived from two basic
spatial archetypes, that of the early forest clearing and that of the first walled garden.
We are now going to look more in detail at the development of early hydraulic ci-
vilizations and how they determined the basis of geometric and spatial thinking in
landscape architecture. It all starts with the significant human transformations that
occurred across the fertile crescent around 5000 years B.C. This is where the structu-
ring of the land starts through tentative hydraulic works. This is also the moment of
the first sedentary inhabitations, which mark a fundamental shift in societal evolution.
The walled garden, also called »paradeisia« or paradise in ancient Persian language,
becomes the essential ingredient of early sedentary settlements. It requires the precise
organization of people and production throughout the seasons and modifies consi-
derably early tribal structures. This is also the time where writing, calculating and
geometry on clay tablets occur for the first time. We have kept to this day the funda-
mental elements of geometry and time from this period. For instance, the units of time
that divide a day in twelve double hours, and each hour in sixty minutes come directly
to us from the most remote Sumerian times. The same can be said of trigonometry
with its division of the circle in 360°, and trigonometry which the pythagorian school
borrowed directly from Sumerian sources 3000 years earlier. The relationship bet-
ween space, time and written law becomes the fundamental key to the success of the
early hydraulic societies. Rations of water are organized and distributed to different
patches of arable land throughout the day, this in turn ensures the existence of pro-
ductive and flourishing gardens year round. Those who calculate and write the laws
of distribution tend not to be the same as those who work the land. With the early
walled garden comes also one of the strongest symbols of propriety and hierarchical
political organization. The walled garden conceived first and foremost for the early
subsistence purposes of the tribe, gradually develops as the magical pleasure ground
of the powerful chosen few. Whether we refer to Anatolia with the early settlements
of Catal Huyuk, and Mesopotamia with the cities of Mari, Ur and Eden or even Egypt
with Thebes, Giseh and Luxor. Each of the examples reveal different facets of the
symbolic organization of nature. The almighty power of the walled garden has indeed
transpired in monotheistic religious belief to this day. We all behold the promise and
hope of some lost paradise for the eternity to come.
© Christophe Girot 2013
Landschaftsarchitektur HS 2013 Seite 01
www.girot.arch.ethz.ch
www.facebook.com/LandscapeArchitectureETHZurich
Literature
Brunner, Ueli: Die Erforschung der antiken Oase von Marib mit Hilfe geomorphologischer Unter-suchungsmethoden, In: Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, Band II, Mainz 1983.
Carroll, Maureen: Earthly paradises. Ancient gar-dens in history and archaeology, London 2003.
Calvet, Yves and Bernard Geyer: Barrages an-tiques de Syrie, Lyon 1992.
Daum, Werner (Hg.): Jemen, Innsbruck 1988.
Laureano, Pietro: La piramide rovesciata. Il modello dell’oasi per il pianeta Terra, Torino 1995.
Petruccioli , Attilio (Hg.): Der islamische Garten. Architektur, Natur, Landschaft, Stuttgart 1995.
Rouvillois-Brigol, Madeleine et. al.: Oasis du Sahara algérien, Paris 1973.
Pregill, Philip und Nancy Volkman: Landscapes in History. Design and planning in the eastern and western traditions, New York 1999.
Bonnechere, Pierre und Odile de Bruyn: L’art et l’âme des jardins, Anvers 1998.
Landschaftsarchitektur HS 2013 Seite 02
Relief, 650 B. C. In: Carroll (2003)
Model of an egyptian house with garden (Tomb of Meketre, 1990 B. C.). In: Bonnechere, de Bruyn (1998)
