Constructing Landscape is a systematic introduction to technical and constructional open space planning, with all the relevant topics, from the most common materials and surfaces to the construction of open space elements and the use of plants. For landscape architects and architects it is an indispensable guide to correct and professional execution planning as well as to preparing solid and well-thought-out requests for proposal. Constructing Landscape is divided into two sections, Materials and Surfaces and Building Construction and Building Elements. The first section provides an overview of the various building materials of landscape architecture and their specific characteristics. It also explains the qualities of surfaces and the different approaches to treating them. The second section begins with an introductory chapter explaining the principles of statics, the connections of load-bearing elements, and the various approaches to anchoring building compo-nents and supporting structures. The subsequent chapters use drawings and text to present the constructional principles and techniques associated with the various building elements. Each chapter concludes with a collection of sample projects, illustrated with photographs and technical drawings.

The editor, Astrid Zimmermann, is an independent landscape architect and a research associate in the Department of Landscape Architectu re and Construction at the Technical University of Berlin. She supervises student projects and teaches electives in the department s advanced studies section.

The team of authors is composed of current and former research associates and doctoral candidates in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Construction at the Technical University of Berlin and independent landscape architects with extensive planning and teaching experience.