Gardens (Gärten, Birhäuser, 1997) is the first volume in the 3-part monograph series of the Swiss landscape architect Dieter Kienast (1945–98).
The book presents Kienast as one of the leading protagonists of landscape architecture understood as an independent artistic language. According to the blurb, for Kienast “the garden is almost a metaphor for a pseudo-nature because it unites the antipodes – nature and culture – within itself”. The book showcases Kienast’s garden designs in a thematised order, and they are described through a series of texts by various authors. Besides Kienast’s foreword to the book, it also contains a more thorough introduction titled “Diction and contradiction: Ways of reading history and tales” (Satz und Gegensatz: Lesarten fon Geschichte und Geshichten) by Brigitte Wormbs. The full project data is included as an appendix. The texts in the richly illustrated book are in German and English, and the beautiful black&white photographs are by Christian Vogt.
Please also check the other two parts in the monograph series: Aussenräume – Open Spaces and Parks und Friedhöfe – Parks and Cemeteries.
The copy in stock is in excellent condition. There is only some minor shelf wear on the dust jacket and the previous owner’s signature on the front flyleaf.
