The Systematic Construction of Landscape Architecture Discipline System

LIU Binyi

The self-centered observation of the world around us,a "point" cognitive approach based on human-environmental instincts,is becoming untenable in the face of the contemporary,allencompassing world.Is our self-conscious perception of the landscape architecture discipline still limited by this "point" thinking?Systematic cognition lies in identifying the"systems" that link things together,structuring these "systems" into "bodies" according to actual laws,and ultimately building them into an open,sustainable,living "system".The ultimate construction is an open,sustainable,and living"system",through which new observations,new perceptions,discoveries,and new verifications can be made.The key to the success or failure of all fields of landscape architecture discipline,such as aesthetics,wisdom,ecology,planning and design,lies in the system,which is the rational thinking of aesthetics,the logical deduction of intelligence,the balanced link of ecology,and the framework of planning and design.

1 A Philosophical Fundamental Framework for Constructing the Disciplinary System of Landscape Architecture

The philosophy of the discipline is the basic framework and intellectual soul of the disciplinary system.The system of cognitive thinking,target value,and disciplinary field and knowledge of landscape architecture is built on it.For this reason,inheriting the three fundamental points of "triadic coupling","dual interaction" and"subject-object unity" of traditional Chinese development philosophy,the author tries to construct a contemporary Chinese development philosophy system,which organically combines the three fundamental points and establishes the philosophical framework of "triadic coupling" ×"dual interaction" × "unity of subject and object",referred to as "3!" Chinese philosophy of development: 1) "Triadic coupling" is the cognition of the existence of things and their relationships,revealing the objective law that all things in the world exist by three fundamental elements in a mutually coupled manner; 2) "Dual interaction"is the original impetus of the development of things,expressing that the fundamental impetus of the development of all things comes from the interaction of 2 elements either in opposition and conflict or in harmony and unity,which is both the objective impetus of nature and the subjective impetus of human social development;3) "Unity of subject and object" is the best orientation to determine the goal and value of the development of things,which is essentially an ideal human value and pursuit.1) is the premise of 2),and 2) is in 1); 2) is the premise of 3),and 3) is in 2); 3) is the goal pursuit and ideal result of 1) and 2).The three are not isolated or solitary,but are synergistic,coupled,and bolted together.The author finds that a Cartesian coordinate system as a framework can visually express the established 3! philosophical system (Fig.1).

Traditional Chinese development philosophy is inseparable from traditional Chinese landscape architecture,which has been accumulated over thousands of years and is the most successful practitioner of traditional Chinese development philosophy.Using landscape architecture as a carrier,we can deduce the origin of the three fundamental points of the "3!" philosophy.The"triadic coupling" cognition was first seen in the triadic view of "wind" and "scenery".The "dual interaction" is seen in the discovery and practice of "scenery divided into inner and outer" and"scenery divided into open and mysterious".The "unity of subject and object" is reflected in the ideal pursuit of the harmonious coexistence of human and nature in Chinese landscape architecture,such as "unity of nature and human","harmony between nature and human","humanization of nature,and humanized nature","just like a natural wonder,although made by human".The history of the development of Chinese landscape architecture which is embedded in China's five thousand years of habitat practice,is also a philosophical history of the realization of the 3! development concept on the Chinese land.In the spatio-temporal system of traditional Chinese landscape,the ancients discovered the "triadic coupling" by their landscape practice,realizing the spatio-temporal bolting and spatio-temporal transformation.And taking environmental induction as a clue,they have gradually accomplished the perfect combination of subjective feelings and garden creation,"unity of subject and object",in the nearly 2,000 years of development of traditional Chinese gardens.

Therefore,there is no doubt that the traditional Chinese development philosophy is the cornerstone framework of the modern landscape architecture discipline.And what is needed is a systematic transformation from tradition to modern.The philosophical theory of the 3! development concept is just the systematic transformation,which contains the basic concepts,elements,factors,development directions,and quadrant areas of the modern landscape architecture discipline (Fig.2).

2 A Systems-based Cognition of the Landscape Architecture Discipline

2.1 Systematic disciplinary concepts based on the 3! philosophy

As shown in Fig.2,the three axes of the coordinate system XX',YY' and ZZ'show the three elements and three dominant veins of background,activity,and form that are fundamental components of landscape architecture,as well as the "triadic coupling"relationship.The space-time covered by the real axis X0,Y0,and Z0 and the space-time covered by the imaginary axes X'0,Y'0,and Z'0 represent the objective world and the subjective world of landscape architecture separately,as well as the "dual interaction" relationship between the subject and the object world and the "unity of subject and object".The coordinate system of the "3!" Chinese philosophy of development concept reflects the "3!" bolting interaction.The origin of the coordinate system,O,is both the origin of the outward expansion and the core of the discipline concentration.

There are three elements of the discipline covered by the XYZ axis of the coordinate system.The background element pursues the harmony of all things.The activity element achieves prosperity in an ideal way of living.And the form element protects and creates healthy and beautiful spatial forms as a carrier to realize the ideal.These are the fundamental contents and goals of the landscape architecture business:the pursuit of the harmonious existence of the"triadic coupling" of background,activity,and form,the pursuit of the balanced development of all subject and object "dual interaction" between human and nature,society and nature,individual and group,experience and transcendence,transmutation and eternity,sensation and environment,the pursuit of subjective factors.

2.2 Systematic disciplinary cognition of the "three axes,six directions,and eight quadrants"

As shown in Fig.3,the "three axes" refer to the background axis,the activity axis,and the form axis.They are the three backbones of the landscape architecture discipline system.The "six directions" refer to the directions of the discipline system (including 18 branches)extended along with the three solid and three imaginary axes: 1) natural background:resources,environment,ecology; 2) humanistic background: policies,regulations,ordinances;3) physical activities: five senses,behavior,health;4) ideological activities: mind,culture,spirit;5) form creation: construction,maintenance,operation; 6) landscape creation: planning,design,landscape.The "eight quadrants" are derived from the division of the whole system"cube" by the three axes and six directions.They can be the source of the eight cross-cutting areas of the discipline.

In the modern landscape architecture discipline system,the discipline boundary is not the focus.For the construction of a landscape architecture discipline building,the key is not in the scale or even in the facade of the building,but in the structural pattern of the discipline system that supports the building,and in the foundation,cornerstone,fulcrum,and nodes of the system framework.This system structure ensures that no matter how many disciplines intersect with landscape architecture,they cannot replace the decomposition of the landscape architecture discipline system.On the contrary,the more integrated and intersecting disciplines there are,the more conducive to the gathering and extension for the "three axes,six directions and eight quadrants" of the landscape architecture discipline system (Fig.4).

3 Concluding Remarks

To check the development of modern landscape architecture discipline by the landscape architecture discipline system constructed in this paper,we can find that "three axes,six directions,eight quadrants" still lack a comprehensive connection,and the axis,the direction,the quadrant are also weak,the"three axes,six directions,eight quadrants" of the coordinate system are not in one coordinate origin as well,which appears to be fragmented.Perhaps it is the crux of the lack of "core"and "kernel" of the discipline.It is a significant proposition for the construction of landscape architecture and the landscape architecture discipline in China and the world to solve the problem of lack of system and fragmentation.