The Big Picture

My mentor, Kevin, is what I would call a “big picture” guy; he has this gift of seeing things from 30,000 feet.  One of the topics we’ve been talking about is how landscape architecture shapes communities, then cities, and the larger world, and how it influences the way we live and experience different places.  For example, why does everyone find Paris so charming?  Besides the amazing architectural details, there are elements of scale that make the city so cozy and comfortable.  The streets are narrow, the buildings are no higher than three stories, and there’s a fluidity between spaces, which, when put together, creates a pedestrian friendliness that simply works.

Photo Credit: Carin Olsson, Paris in Four Months

Photo Credit: Carin Olsson, Paris in Four Months

Paris, Rue de la Huchette, near the left bank; Photo Credit: Julia Mathewson

On the other end of the spectrum, Kevin pointed out to me the astonishing scale difference between NYC’s Central Park and our kind of “central park” – Klyde Warren.  If NYC’s park were drawn over downtown Dallas with, say, Main Street serving as the center line, the 880 acre area would extend from Reunion Tower, through Deep Ellum and to a point that’s beyond Fair Park. The width? Virtually the same dimension as what is between Woodall Rogers and the I-30 canyon behind City Hall. It would literally wipe out everything in downtown Dallas. Klyde Warren Park is a puddle by comparison…no wonder the grass gets worn out so quickly.  Putting the relative size of different spaces in the context of a familiar place really creates a powerful image, doesn’t it?  That’s what I mean by “big picture” – detecting patterns and putting things in perspective.

Image: Kevin Sloan Studio

The size of Central Park is larger than all of downtown Dallas; Image: Kevin Sloan Studio

Scale is such a critical part of design, and working things out at the right proportions in the landscape is even more challenging.  When the sky is literally your ceiling, space feels incredibly vast.  One of my first assignments as a student of landscape architecture was to measure and record the sizes of every feature in the student courtyard– the width of a walkway, the height of a seat wall, the depth of a bench.  It seemed like a pointless exercise at the time, but experience has so embedded this knowledge in my memory, that it’s now become second nature for me to apply the right proportions to a design, without even thinking about it.

But, even when aware of proportions, scale can still be tricky.  For one of my first projects, I designed a stainless steel metal insert for a small fence gate “window” that was replicated from a much larger metal adornment on the client’s front door.  When specifying the size of the frame, I reduced the width of the metal pieces to match the size of the window opening — big mistake!  The insert became nearly invisible from the street.  The problem was that I focused too much on the gate itself, without looking at it within the larger context of the property.  I ignored the big picture.

Whether scaling elements in a small garden, or sizing a park to accommodate a city, it’s easy to get swept away in details before realizing you’ve lost track of what’s really relevant.  I was personally reminded of this lesson just this week, when, without any notice, our new nanny stopped showing up for work.  Lovely, right?  As I’ve been scrambling to reorganize my schedule and handle carpool pickups, client meetings and project installations, I’ve been wondering if all the stress is really worth it?   There’s so much to do in a day, that it’s easy to throw your hands up and say, “what’s the point?”  I mean, let’s face it, designing gardens isn’t curing Cancer. So, I’ve been totally distracted this week, working on finding a new nanny and complaining to Michael about how frustrated I am from driving in carpool traffic and not getting anything done in the office.  Overall, I bet he’d tell you that I’ve been a real joy to be around.  LOL.

As they say, though, life imitates art, right?  Ha ha.  So, this week, I’ve been trying to remember not to stress over the small things and to stay focused on the big picture.  For me, transforming spaces, nurturing peoples’ spirits and inspiring others to see what could be — that greater possibilities exist in all places — is what makes designing landscapes personally fulfilling.  The satisfaction that comes from seeing the built results of our work and knowing “we did that,”  is what makes it worth every bit of effort, even when things seem to be falling apart at the seams.   That’s the big picture.  It’s just a matter of keeping it in perspective.

Tell me, what’s in your big picture and how do you stay focused on it?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Cheers,