‘Design with Nature,’ 50 years later

Beginning on the Summer Solstice, the Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology at the Weitzman School is presenting “Design With Nature Now,” a multi-platform exploration of the legacy of visionary environmental planner and landscape architect Ian L. McHarg.

Banff National Park, Alberta
Banff National Park, Alberta. On view in the Meyerson Galleries. (Photo: ©Paul Zizka)

Design With Nature Now, echoing the title of McHarg’s 1969 book “Design with Nature,” takes visitors on a global tour of 25 ongoing or completed projects in 21 nations—from China to the United States, and from Columbia to New Zealand—to measure the political, environmental, and economic dimensions of landscape architecture as practiced today.

“The 21st century is marked by the fact that humanity has directly or indirectly modified every habitat on the planet, and much of it deleteriously so,” says Richard Weller, co-executive director of the McHarg Center, and professor and chair of the department of landscape architecture. “With the unintended consequences of global warming, species extinction, and resource depletion, it is now possible that our extraordinary success as a species could also become our demise.”

“Design With Nature Now” also consists of an archival and artist-led exhibitiona two-day conference, a series of lectures and tours, a documentary video, a website, and a forthcoming book.

Read more at PennDesign News.