Buildings

Buildings can and should be designed to frame open space. In London, the best example is the Nash Terraces which define and contain Regent’s Park. It is a brilliant example of how landscape and architecture can be integrated to produce a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts.

Elsewhere, buildings are used to frame streets. From the standpoint of urban design, the worst mistake is to treat buildings merely as sculptural objects. At More London, for which Robert Townshend was the landscape architect, the axial space has good integration of landscape with architecture. The spaces east and west of the axis are blank and empty.