Dan Kiley (1912-2004) is one of my landscape architect heroes. The clarity of his design approach and the bold execution of significant landscape projects over a sustained period is unparalleled. His legacy endures.
So when I chanced upon a new website about Kiley created by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) recently, I was reminded again why he is such a ‘landscape legend’.
All photographs above from The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley website.
The TCLF has, with the help of both commercial and educational sponsorship, established a survey of 28 of Kiley’s significant projects, all with new photography commissioned specifically for the online ‘exhibit’ (as they call it) and a touring exhibition during July and September 2014. There’s also a decent biography and a series of recollections by other landscape architects – including one of my other heroes, Peter Walker talking about the Miller Garden (1955):
I considered him my most important mentor… He introduced me to the work of Andre Le Nôtre. In my judgment he is the greatest landscape architect in the last half of the twentieth century. – Peter Walker
The website (and guide book) are part of the TCLF’s annual spotlight in their ‘Landslide’ series with a mission to “to draw immediate and lasting attention to threatened landscapes and unique features.”
The new TCLF website is undoubtedly the definitive online Kiley resource.
Contribute
If you want to contribute to the TCLF’s programs and initiatives, head this way. It is a not for profit organisation so relies on support from the public to stay afloat.
ARKHITEKTON 