Human Activities And Landscape Architecture

The Relation between Human Activities and Landscape Architecture

The first impression of designing constructions and places in the field of landscape architecture seems to create a particular space where people can display their activities efficiently. This creating job is not only to influence on human activities as performing our daily lives, but also to impact on society, politics, economy, and culture as a whole, which are associated with the track of human civilization. Thus, the significance of landscape architecture should be focused on how to fulfill human and societyЎЇs needs as well as to maintain the beauty of nature.

Prior to learn about all the artistic and scientific skills related to landscape architecture, identifying human behavior as a view of physiology and psychology and defining the interaction between the basic human needs and the design of landscape are greatly significant. Because the purpose of landscape architecture is based on ÐŽogiving human satisfactionÐŽ± in balance with our given natural environment. Although human being is the most complicated creature on the earth, we subdivide the basic human needs into the five different branches; social needs, stabilizing needs, individual needs, the need for self-expression, and the need for self-enrichment. Each element explains how people behave naturally, and that gives us hints about the way landscape architects design places to make people relaxed and encouraged in their daily lives.

The first element of the five basic human needs is social needs, which contains the human desire toward love, fellowship and such social interaction. People feel alive when they are engaged in something that others belong. Therefore, people seek spaces where they can stick together with common sense. Such behavioral tendency can be found in the public dance and concert hall, sports stadiums, mall in campus, church and the like. The Mall in Columbia in Maryland, for instance, has variety of places to support human social activities. A movie theater is across restaurants, and a skating rink is located next to the shopping mall. Also the mall is connected with the river-side park through overpass. Each facility is placed in walk-able distance with natural decoration like trees, flowers, and grass. This mall is not only providing a joyful area, but also encouraging people to participate in social interaction.

Second one, stabilizing needs, is a human desire to get rid of fear, anxiety and such sense of instability. Also, expressing individual and social philosophy through manipulating the surrounding environment is a part of stabilizing needs. Therefore this notion is a mixture of physical and psychological desires of human being. Moreover social needs are one of stabilizing needs because people feel stable through getting involved in various groups as a member of their society. Sapporo Dome Stadium in Japan is a good example of both social and stabilizing needs. The brilliant feature of Sapporo Dome is the multi-functional convertible stadium. This hi-tech facility - removable seats and roof, air conditioning and heating system - makes possible to play soccer, baseball, or music concert at any time of year regardless of the weather. After enjoying games, people can cheer up the victory of their favorite team in sports bars or have dinner with their family and friends in restaurants around the stadium. The success of such futuristic dome is to bring people together through designing the stadium safely and comfortably

Individual needs and the needs for self expression are very similar notion that can be described as privacy and territory. It is unlikely to live without our own houses because that is the place where people can establish their identities and develop self-awareness. Being isolated from the urban environment and setting up spirit can promote individuals to charge in energetic activities. Not only for self-development, but also for self-assertion, defense, and exhibition, territoriality is also one of the ultimate human desires. People attempt to mark off their area and want to have dominant power within the territory. Such behavior pattern, individuality and territoriality, can be found almost everywhere around outdoor public spaces. For example, there are people who lie down on the ground of campus indicate their territories by their bags, mats and such individual goods.

Finally, the need for self-enrichment is associated with the artistic desires of humans. As a process of creating places, people consider of the quality of their lives, which is mostly related with visual beauty. Suppose there are two different pay-phone booths. One has a stylish appearance with colorful chair while the other has ordinary look. Which one would be preferred by phone users? We already know that the answer