page_title: History of gardening
section_title: Contemporary gardens
hierarchical_section_title: History of gardening / The historical development of garden styles / Contemporary gardens
caption_attribution_description: English: A miniature replica of the Fallingwater building at MRRV, Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh
context_page_description: The history of gardening may be considered as aesthetic expressions of beauty through art and nature, a display of taste or style in civilized life, an expression of an individual's or culture's philosophy, and sometimes as a display of private status or national pride—in private and public landscapes.
context_section_description: Romantic English cottage garden revival
  Modernist gardens
  Naturalistic habitat gardens
  In the 20th century, modern design for gardens became important as architects began to design buildings and residences with an eye toward innovation and streamlining the formal Beaux-Arts and derivative early revival styles, removing unnecessary references and embellishment. Garden design, inspired by modern architecture, naturally followed in the same philosophy of "form following function", thus concerning the many philosophies of plant maturity. In post-war United States people's residences and domestic lives became more outdoor oriented, especially in the western states as promoted by Sunset, with the backyard often becoming an outdoor room.
  Frank Lloyd Wright demonstrated his interpretation for the modern garden by designing homes in complete harmony with natural surroundings. Taliesin and Fallingwater are both examples of careful placement of architecture in nature so the relationship between the residence and surroundings become seamless. His son, Lloyd Wright, trained in architecture and landscape architecture in the Olmsted Brothers office, with his father and with architect Irving Gill. He practiced an innovative organic integration of structure and landscape in his works.
  Subsequently, Garrett Eckbo, James Rose, and Dan Kiley – known as the "bad boys of Harvard" – met while studying traditional landscape architecture became notable pioneers in the design of modern gardens. As Harvard embraced modern design in their school of architecture, these designers wanted to interpret and incorporate those new ideas in landscape design. They became interested in developing functional space for outdoor living with designs echoing natural surroundings. Modern gardens feature a fresh mix of curved and architectonic designs and many include abstract art in geometrics and sculpture. Spaces are defined with the thoughtful placement of trees and plantings. Thomas Church work in California was influential through his books and other publications. In Sonoma County, California his 1948 Donnell garden's swimming pool, kidney-shaped with an abstract sculpture within it, became an icon of modern outdoor living.
  In Mexico Luis Barragán explored a synthesis of International style modernism with native Mexican tradition in private estates and residential development projects such as Jardines del Pedregal and the San Cristobal 'Los Clubes' Estates in Mexico City. In civic design the Torres de Satélite are urban sculptures of substantial dimensions in Naucalpan, Mexico. His house, studio, and gardens, built in 1948 in Mexico City, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.
  Roberto Burle Marx is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil. He was known as a modern nature artist and a public urban space designer. He was landscape architect (as well as a botanist, painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist, and musician) who designed of parks and gardens in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and in the United States in Florida. He worked with the architects Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer on the landscape design for some of the prominent modernist government buildings in Brazil's capitol Brasília.
caption: Scale model of the Fallingwater building, Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh
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