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Contemporary Landscape Design Collection

The Contemporary Landscape Design Collection (CLDC) was formed under the direction of the Garden and Landscape Studies department at Dumbarton Oaks between 2001 and 2009, and is intended as a complement to the existing collection of drawings by Beatrix Farrand in the Rare Book Collection. Michel Conan, then Director of Garden and Landscape Studies, initiated the project and served as Curator of the CLDC. From 2001–2009, Xin Wu, then Coordinator of East Asian Garden Studies, served as Assistant Curator of CLDC and administered the collection.

The collection focuses on a select group of contemporary landscape designers from around the world and a selection of their most significant projects. Designers include Diana Balmori, Ian Hamilton Finlay and The New Arcadians, Richard Haag, Hiroki Hasegawa, Ron Herman, Patricia Johanson, Lorna Jordan, Bernard Lassus, Toru Mitani, Yoshio Nakamura, Athena Tacha, Michael Van Valkenburgh, and Kongjian Yu. Materials were selected with the goal of illuminating each designer's design process, including preliminary studies, documentation of the design period, documentation of the finished product, and finally, the project’s evolution. Drawn from the files kept by contemporary landscape architects and garden designers in their own offices and private archives, the collection includes sketches, drawings, plans, images, and other documentation for a number of selected projects. In addition to the project documentation, the collection includes some biographical information and selected writings by the designers. The collection is currently maintained within the Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives (ICFA).

 

Inventories

Diana Balmori (MS.GL.002-01)

Richard Haag (MS.GL.002-03)

Hiroki Hasegawa (MS.GL.002-04)

Ron Herman (MS.GL.002-05)

Patricia Johanson (MS.GL.002-06)

Lorna Jordan (MS.GL.002-07)

Bernard Lassus (MS.GL.002-08)

Toru Mitani (MS.GL.002-09)

Yoshio Nakamura (MS.GL.002-10)

Athena Tacha (MS.GL.002-11)

Michael Van Valkenburgh (MS.GL.002-12)

Kongjian Yu (MS.GL.002-13)