P.O. Box 489
Ashfield, MA
01330
413-628-4600 Fax:413-628-0117
A New Book from Walter Cudnohufsky |
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Cultivating the Designer’s Mind:
Principles and Process for Coherent Landscape Design
by Walter Cudnohufsky Click the following links for excerpts
Preface |
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Book Reviews:
For the Ecological Landscaping Alliance
From Landscape Architecture Magazine “Walter Cudnohufsky, ASLA, the founder of the Conway School of Design, steps away from the conventional textbook approach. Born of the Conway’s intensive 10-month graduate program rooted in New England’s visual and cultural landscape, the book addresses both the fundamentals of landscape design such as site analysis and defining good design in the age of climate change, and chapters devoted to the cultivation of the designer’s point of view. Though the text is illustrated primarily with drawings and photographs, case studies rely heavily on watercolors to evoke the mood and principles set forth. The reader would be hard pressed to find a single overdetermined rendering or manipulated image, adding to the book’s striking adherence to principles over Photoshop.”
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About the BookThe founding director of the Conway School, long time landscape architect and community planner Walter Cudnohufsky, has written a book with his long-time planning and design associate Mollie Babize that summarizes a design philosophy and process developed over a six-decade career in professional practice and education. Highly illustrated, the 320-page book outlines a design process that is both logical and creative, one that is accessible to anyone who desires to work in concert with nature’s patterns. Sue Reed, author of Climate-Wise Landscaping and Energy-wise Landscape Design, says “Written in language both poetic and pithy, Cultivating the Designer’s Mind invites us to see landscape design as a process that everyone can master.” The work has received high praise from practitioners in architecture, landscape architecture, and education. Bruce Stedman, Executive Director of the Conway School, writes “Together, Walt Cudnofhusky and Mollie Babize provide clear and direct advice on working with clients, truly understanding the site and the project, and capturing those flashes of insight that yield a great design.” Architect Bruce Coldham says the book “speaks inclusively and importantly to the disciplines of architecture and engineering through its focus on underserved site planning.” In the words of architect Robert Swain, “Walt Cudnohufsky speaks to the diligence and joy of the design process. This book presents his graphic and artistic sensibilities—principles of design that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary—infused with a deep love of nature and its abundant gifts.” The book is available for purchase at local events, or directly from Walter Cudnohufsky Associates, 455 Bug Hill Road (P.O. Box 489), Ashfield, MA 01330. For more information contact designersmind@wcala.com. # # #
Endorsements for Cultivating a Designer’s Mind
Cultivating the Designer’s Mind will help all of us in landscape design and planning to achieve greater success. Together, Walt Cudnofhusky and Mollie Babize provide clear and direct advice on working with clients, truly understanding the site and the project, and capturing those flashes of insight that yield a great design. Walt was my teacher at Conway School in 1978, and everything in this remarkable combination of memoir, instruction guide, and design primer reminds me how much of my life and career I owe to him. Anyone interested in the process of creating vital and sustaining landscapes will find great wisdom in this work. In this book, Walt draws on a rich trove of experience in designing landscapes and teaching others to design them. He provides an insightful and comprehensive approach to planning and designing landscapes that are sensitive both to the land and to the people who occupy that land. I especially appreciate his emphasis on the importance of listening—listening carefully to what the land can tell us, and to what clients say and/ or feel—then synthesizing these in artful and creative landscapes. More than any design professional in my life experience, Walt Cudnohufsky speaks to the diligence and joy of the design process. This book presents his graphic and artistic sensibilities––principles of design that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary––infused with a deep love of nature and its abundant gifts. My career has been deeply informed by Walt’s talents and teaching and I’ll be the first to enjoy and benefit from this new book. Written in language both poetic and pithy, “Cultivating the Designer’s Mind” invites us to see landscape design as a process that everyone can master. Authors Walter Cudnohufsky and Mollie Babize start with the premise that effective design simply requires both creativity and analysis, both intuition and logic. They then make their case by methodically guiding the reader through every step. Illustrated by explanatory diagrams, bolstered by detailed case studies, and accented throughout by iconic Cudnohufsky watercolor paintings, this book is a must read for everyone who aspires to shape or influence our physical world. In the world of landscape architecture, Walt Cudnohufsky has been a tremendous influence – both as an educator and practitioner. My personal experience with him has been project-based, but even as landscape architect he was an educator – it’s in his DNA. This splendid book – which is as much a joy to read as it is to look at –codifies the way he has consistently brought insight and surprise to his work. Savor it . . . the combination of writing and visuals is like a great meal paired with the perfect wines. As an architect, I have appreciated Walt Cudnohufsky’s willingness to extend landscape design thinking into/inside the building. Indeed I expected that of him in our many collaborations and always found his contributions valuable. When the roles were reversed, as they sometimes were, he had a firm basis for integrating whatever I might contribute. This book continues that exchange, as it speaks inclusively and importantly to the disciplines of architecture and engineering through its focus on underserved site planning." |
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Recent Workshops |
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From a Designer’s View – The Mount
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| photo by David Dashiell | ||
Walt Cudnohufsky will lead a tour of the gardens at The Mount in Lenox, MA, the estate designed and built by writer Edith Wharton at the turn of the century. Participants will take part in a detailed and lively group discussion, learning about garden design as a set of planned relationships. This experience will allow participants to understand and appreciate the landscape around them in a deeper manner. |
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Principles of Residential Design
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Conway School News |
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Landscape Design Clinic,
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Essential Garden Design,
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Enduring Garden Design Principles,
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Gardens: Why We Like What We Like,
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Site Planning Introduction,
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Principles of Residential Design,
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