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 The architect and photographer Rolf Reiner Maria Borchard is a professor of design principles at the Muthesius-Hochschule in Kiel. In this book he has chosen seven of the most beautiful gardens and photographed them during several trips, always in spring, at a time when the garden architecture has not yet been overwhelmed by the vegetation, allowing Borchard to make the best possible impact in the image. His trained eye for the way architecture is embedded in the landscape in particular means that here again, as in his older books, he has found striking and convincing images, steeped in the harmony of the gardens. From the book:
The city of Suzhou, which was already mentioned in the 5th century B.C., is on the imperial Canal 80 km west of Shanghai. It is known as the "Venice of the East" for its chequor board pattern of canals, which make it an ideal location for gardens. Suzhou has over 150 of them, some of which have been in existence for over 1000 years. The gardens of Suzhou reflect an attitude of mind that sees man as being in harmony with nature. Former officials and rich merchants linked up with poets and painters to vie with each other over garden design. They created miniature landscapes in which nature and architecture fuse into a coherent whole. To a certain extent, the scenes produced are like contrived landscape paintings. In European gardens, most attention is paid to the various plant species, but in Chinese gardens the interplay of rocks, soil, water, plants, pavilions, light and paths is the principal concern.  Hardcover 152 pages - 11" x 11" - (2/04)
ZC5363 Gardens in Suzhou $68.00
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