Acers and architects

click photo to enlarge
I've written elsewhere in this blog about the way architects use trees and shrubs around buildings (see here and here). As far as trees go many appear to have a predilection for what I call "lollipop" trees, that is to say those trees that don't grow very tall and which can be easily pruned to produce a clear straight trunk topped with a pile of roughly spherical, elliptical or cone-shaped foliage. The species that lend themselves to this kind of treatment and which, therefore, abound around new buildings (at least in the UK) are: rowan, whitebeam, False acacia, bay laurel, crab apple, flowering cherry, acer, etc.

Recently, as I've travelled around, I've been struck by the number of new buildings that have been planted with acers of one kind or another, but especially those cultivars with leaves that turn a bright orange/yellow in autumn. I know from experience that though acers are hardy if sheltered they can be damaged by late spring frosts and cold winds. Consequently I'm a little puzzled at their apparent popularity in open, windy locations where they are frequently going to receive intermittent tending and are likely to be relatively dry in summer due to the hard surfaces around them. Perhaps landscape architects know something about these trees that I don't.

Today's main photograph shows the Boathouse Business Centre in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, a building that has featured before on this blog (click here, then scroll down). It has three of these trees giving bright splashes of colour that contrast with the white and muted tones of the building and paving. At this time of year it's easy to see the strong contribution that the trees make to the building and its location. Elsewhere in this development the alder - an interesting choice - is the main tree that has been used. The smaller photograph shows the decorative swan and part of the main facade of the former Fogarty Feather Factory in Boston, Lincolnshire, now converted to flats. I've also featured this building before. If you'd like to view the full facade or read of its history see here. In this instance the acer is not planted in connection with the old building but forms part of the landscaping of a car park in front of a fairly new "shed" i.e. a superstore selling computers and associated paraphernalia. I couldn't bring myself to photograph the tree in front of that awful building with its pink paintwork so I positioned myself to include the older facade and that very unlikely looking swan.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Counterpoints and foils

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Counterpoint (v2) - 3. To set in contrast; to emphasize a contrast between (two things) by juxtaposition...
Foil (n1) - 6. Anything that serves by contrast of colour or quality to adorn another thing or set it off to advantage.
definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary

I often think of the shrubs, trees and other plants that accompany much modern architecture as the natural, random "counterpoint" to the man-made, clean, angularity of the buildings. It is no exaggeration to say that some contemporary structures do not succeed without the foil of foliage. Architects have long recognized this. The eighteenth century Palladian mansion with its light-coloured, sharply cut stone was often sited to be glimpsed through trees as the visitor approached, and Victorian villas are inconceivable without their surrounding laurels and conifers. But it is the architecture of the Modern Movement and later that most relies on the counterpoint and foil of trees and shrubs. Imagine what would be lost if Mies van der Rohe's "Farnsworth House" was stripped of its surrounding trees. And think how much better Norman Foster's "Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts" would look for some closer planting!

On my recent visit to London I came across a new building where the architect had seen the value of placing green leaves against the high-tech sheen of his construction. The City of London Information Centre by MAKE Architects replaces a booth of early 1950s vintage sited near the south transept of St Paul's Cathedral. It consists of a sharply folded stainless steel envelope made of 220 panels, a steel frame and glazed walls. There is little planting nearby, a "city sized" tree being the largest natural specimen. However, on one side, very near the perfection of the wall where it comes down to earth, is a closely cropped line of shrubs. The juxtaposition of this clipped, undulating natural form against the architecture not only worked very well in terms of the building and location, but made - I thought - a suitable subject for a photograph.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 175mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 500
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On