丹尼斯·皮帕兹
《城市环境设计》（以下简称USD）: Sasaki公司共有三个项目获得２００７年ASLA奖，分别包括一个地标奖和两个规划奖。能否谈一下您对三个项目的自我评价？您是怎样看待ASLA奖的？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：这是ASLA对我们工作的认可和奖励，说明ASLA既保持了高水平的评价标准，又充分认可了设计过程的复杂性。宾大和巴拉曼大学项目获得的是分析与规划奖，这个奖项与其说是景观设计，其实更属于城市规划，我们之所以获奖，是因为对基地复杂的城市环境进行了全面深入的调研分析。查尔斯顿滨水公园获得了地标奖，这是与上述两个项目不同级别的奖励。这是ASLA和美国历史保护信托会联合授予的。这是一个很有影响力的机构。地标奖只授予那些经得起时间考验的项目。它们在15年或更长时间以后，仍然“保留了完整的原创设计，并极大促进了所在城市公共空间的发展”（ASLA评语）。设计的完整性和为公共空间增色是Sasaki做项目的根本原则。
USD: 地标奖项目查尔斯顿滨水公园，被誉为“一条伟大的城市走廊”。它使棕地恢复生态功能，又令城市公共空间得到了拓展，人性化的城市空间营造和生态环境的恢复，是现代人对景观的双重寄托，但有时两者又是一对矛盾，您认为在人们的需求和可持续发展观念之间，应该进行怎样的平衡？Sasaki应对具体项目时，是否有必须遵守的设计原则？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：把一块棕地改造为城市公园固然令人头疼，但是也蕴涵着巨大的潜力。绿地取代了原来的开放式停车场和破败的码头，有助于缓解和改善城市的热岛效应。盐沼地的植被和公园海滩的恢复，可以使游客欣赏到此地的沿海生态景观和野生动物。除此之外，一个精心设计的公园还能促进人们建立健康的城市生活方式。公园的周边街区改善以后，越来越多的人们开始养成散步习惯，逐渐适应于居住在集零售和其它商业于一体的多种族聚居社区。我们相信，有些意义深远的设计在规划阶段就应该做出决定，换句话说，可持续发展的理念并非仅仅适用于建筑材料和施工过程，更重要的是要在整体设计思想上，鼓励健康的生活方式和可持续性发展。
USD: Sasaki获奖的两个规划项目都是校园规划，能否概括一下校园规划所要遵循的主要设计原则？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：这两个获奖的校园实际大不相同，一个是美国东北部的常青藤大学，一个是中东地中海沿岸的私立大学。Sasaki做的校园规划设计各不相同，没有固定的模式和方法。与其它许多美国顶尖大学一样，宾大的规划追求进一步深化校园和城区之间的积极互动。象宾大这样的名牌大学能够并且应该在文化和经济上对所在城市的发展有所促进，反之亦然。巴拉曼大学规划则表现了学校的使命及其核心价值观。我们的景观设计植根于当地文化，同时也采用一系列手法力求加深景观和建筑之间的关系。美国传统的田园式校园和围绕校园的繁华城市之间也存在着许多矛盾。目前美国日益呈现出这样的需要，即大学作为在生物技术等新兴科研领域经济增长的原动力，必须要促进其周边形成健康的城市社区，才能吸引最优秀的学生和教职人员。作为设计师，职责就是在塑造和表现大学的建筑和景观特色的同时，改善公共环境。
USD: 宾大规划的主题是“链接宾大”，“链接”的概念贯穿项目设计的始终，譬如说学习生活之桥，运动休闲之桥等，并且特别强调交通走廊的建设，能否简单介绍一下这一主导理念的产生背景和过程？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：这一理念直接源自宾大校长艾米&＃8226;古特曼，她亲自监督了宾大连接区的每个规划步骤。她在就职演说中呼吁，宾大要“让费城和世界都参与进来”。宾大链接区既是宾大下半世纪的发展蓝图，又是将校区与斯库基尔河以及费城中心城区连接起来的桥梁。因此，“桥梁”自然成为最恰当的比喻。
学习生活之桥重新确立了核桃树大街的主轴线，连接起中心城市的利顿豪斯广场。运动休闲之桥是一座令人惊叹的悬索步行桥，将沿岸的各个体育休闲中心与现有的体育馆连接起来，。南街的文化保健之桥和未来的研究之桥连接保健中心和研究机构，对大学和费城的发展将起到关键作用。新的校园规划弘扬了东校区的工业历史，同时使宾大在斯库基尔河畔呈现出崭新的形象。
USD: 巴拉曼大学项目的设计，体现了Sasaki规划与城市设计的设计原则：有力的综合分析，经济现实主义，环境责任，以及文化意识。而设计重点在于大学要建立一个以鼓励各学科间的学习与交流为目的的公众领域，设计采用了怎样的方法建立这个领域的？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：巴拉曼大学位于贝鲁特北部靠近黎波里的一座山顶上。学校董事会要求创造出体现教育崇高性的氛围，但不能带有任何明显的宗教特征，因为学校强调不同宗教间的和谐共处，特别是基督教和伊斯兰教。整个校区设计了三个主轴线：入口漫步道处是悬铃木树林，行人被放在优先考虑的位置，虽然也设置了机动车道，但并没有占据主导地位。校园核心区包括很多庭院、聚会和静思场所。最后是三角型的学问之路，通向橄榄园和主入口。紫色、粉色和绿色的本土植物与建筑墙体和地面铺装形成鲜明对比。学问之路既有实际的连接作用，又喻意深远，比喻架起连接神圣和世俗的桥梁。
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USD: 能否请您阐述一下Sasaki的核心设计观念？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：Sasaki是个跨行业的设计公司，公司文化的核心是合作和交流。我们的景观设计业务的目标是创造恒久的景观，可以传承数代的、意义非凡的场所。景观设计与市政工程、城市规划和建筑配合，在各式各样、富有挑战性的基地上进行新颖独特的设计，如城市滨水区、大学校园、环境敏感地区和棕地等。与建筑设计]不同的是，景观设计对时间有特殊的要求，因为必须等待植物的生长和成熟才能获得预期的景观效果。Sasaki在项目设计时要求至少有50年的使用期，我们并不追求立竿见影的效果和当下时髦的设计手法；我们的设计是要超越流行，重视持久的品质和对场地的深刻理解。客户和有关方面强调的各种人性需求是所有设计的基础，他们的问题和所关注的热点帮助我们探寻各种方案，直到找到最合适的解决办法。我们也非常重视公共领域的设计，因为人们需要各种公共空间来聚会、纪念，嬉戏、庆祝以增进彼此的联系。所以，各种公共空间如城市广场、校园、公司休闲中心等都成为Sasaki的设计重点。Sasaki还邀请艺术家参与到设计中，艺术的融入极大地丰富了公共环境。
USD: 阅读Sasaki的设计作品，以成熟的设计风格为主导，而非前卫的表现，对此您是怎样理解的？Sasaki公司是怎样培养设计师的创造力？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：我们认为创造力来源于解决设计难题的能力，这些难题因场地、项目和客户需求而产生。创造力通常是在对场地进行调查和研究的缜密过程中产生的，它是景观设计师、市政工程师、规划师和建筑师相互沟通合作的结果。例如某滨水项目，有资料表明此地有一条废弃很久的工业用运河，设计时就可能考虑把它重新发掘和利用起来，或者充当泄洪区，或者做为小艇的停泊湾，我们有个滨水项目就是这样设计的。通常，创造性的解决方案只有在遇到难题时才会产生。
USD: 在很多时候Sasaki作为城市规划师的角色主导项目的设计局面，而Sasaki最初又是一个以景观设计为背景的公司。您认为景观设计对规划和城市设计意味着什么？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：景观设计的对象是土地，因此它是所有环境构建工作的基础。具体的地形和植被往往是设计的出发点，并且决定跨行业合作的程度。跨行业合作是我们公司的核心。在Sasaki，没有哪个工作室是处于主导地位的。在面临设计难题时，每个工作室都要提出多方面的解决方案。公司合伙人的任务是与客户直接联系和沟通，在调动公司整体知识储备的同时协调和激励各个小组的工作。例如，我们的景观设计部、规划部和城市设计部可以向建筑部指明工作内容，反之亦然；某个项目的室内设计方案可以解决另一个项目的可持续性问题；或者，我们在中国的现行工作可以为在克里夫兰的项目启发创作灵感。支持这些互动的基础就是公司的平衡式所有权结构，这种公司结构在业界是独一无二的。虽然每个项目都各不相同，但是由于公司设计过建筑环境中的各个层面，我们总是能从独特的视角出发找到解决方案。
USD: Sasaki的北京2008奥林匹克公园方案赢得了竞赛，是您主持设计的，对中国的地域和文化特征，您是怎样理解的？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：很显然，对城市设计师而言，很重要的一项功课就是要熟悉当地历史、文化和城市建设。中国的城市建设自有一套体系，并且已经运用到北京等大城市的规划、建设和布局中。理想城市规划的很多典型元素其实都起源于中国，例如城门和入口的概念、指引方向的城市极点的设立、人性化的建筑布局、人和自然的和谐共生之观念，这些在世界各地都有所应用。中国的城市规划都强调公民秩序，形式上主要表现为规模巨大的公共开放空间的规划和建立。这种秩序感和平衡感在中国传统的大景观和花园设计上都体现出来。面对这样的历史传承，不管项目是在世界的哪个地方，城市规划者、景观设计师和建筑师都可从中汲取丰富的灵感。我们的北京奥林匹克公园的设计概念就深深植根于北京的历史文化等背景，并与奥运村周边城区紧密相连。公园设计的一个关键目标就是要奥运村长久使用，必须保证2008年以后这里仍然是城市的一个亮点和繁华之地。
USD: Sasaki在中国有很多项目，您认为中国的景观设计市场及景观业的前景如何？
丹尼斯·皮帕兹：我们在中国的每个项目都非常独特，都是对特定场所和文化的反思。作为设计师，我们必须深入了解所有细节的东西，这就需要和客户密切沟通合作。我们在中国参与的很多项目投标几乎都中标了，可是令人失望和遗憾的是，这种形式缺少一个关键步骤，即在设计前期和客户进行直接沟通。如果和客户建立起长期的良好关系（我们已和很多中国公司建立起这样的关系），我们就可以了解有关场地的很多细节的东西，具体的设计内容，地域和文化背景，并从中国悠久的造园史中汲取智慧和灵感。中国经济快速发展，农村人口大量涌入城市，这些都带来很严峻的挑战。因此我们认为，中国的景观设计应该同城市规划、建筑设计等其他设计行业整合在一起。在公司54年的发展历史中，景观设计一直是我们的主业，但由于公司结构是跨行业的，这就保证我们能采取全面的设计方法。我们的经验证明，在设计前期，可以并且应该能够做出意义最深远和最有效的决定。中国有着悠久的造园史，而我们在景观设计业拥有丰富的经验，因此我们非常愿意继续在中国发展业务。
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简介：丹尼斯·皮帕兹，美国SASAKI景观设计事务所总裁，全面管理公司事务。他有着20年的国际及国内景观设计经验，包括获奖的北京2008奥林匹克公园项目。
USD: As we know Sasaki has won three 2007 ASLA awards which include a landmark award and two planning honor awards. Could you give us some comments on the three projects? What do you think about the ASLA award?
Pieprz: The ASLA recognizes and rewards excellence in our profession while keeping standards high and acknowledging the complexity of the process of design. The awards for both Penn Connects (University of Pennsylvania Urban Design Vision Plan) and University of Balamand were in the Analysis and Planning category, and were as much for Urban Planning as for Landscape Architecture – we were recognized for doing extensive research and analysis of the complex urban conditions on the sites.The Landmark Award for the Charleston Waterfront Park is a completely different level of recognition. It is given jointly by the ASLA and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is a very influential organization. The Landmark Award is given only to a project that has stood the test of time. It is one that, after a minimum of 15 years, has in the ASLA's words "retained the integrity of its original design and significantly contributed to the public realm of the city in which it is located." These two elements – integrity of design and adding to the public realm, are absolutely fundamental to our mission here at Sasaki.
USD: The landmark award was given to the Charleston Waterfront Park, which is considered “A Great Urban Promenade” and was recovered from a brownfield to an urban space. To create an urban space for people, and to recover ecological environment are the two aspects of an urban space that people are pursuing, but at the same time, to some extent, there are a couple of conflicts. How do you create an urban space that balances people's needs and sustainability? Does SASAKI Associates have any design concepts obligatory for similar projects?
Pieprz: There is tension in readapting a former industrial site for use as a public park, but therein lies its potential. The very act of replacing open parking lots and rotting piers with green space is regenerative and ameliorates the "heat island" effect. The restoration of a habitat of salt marsh grasses and shallow estuarine waters along the park's edge allows visitors the opportunity to appreciate the area's marine ecology and wildlife. But beyond these gestures, a carefully designed public park also promotes sustainable urban lifestyles. As the neighborhood around the park improved, more and more people were able to adopt healthy pedestrian habits and live in racially diverse neighborhoods that combine residential with retail and commercial. We believe that some of the most profound design decisions can be made at the planning level – in other words, it's not just sustainable building materials and processes that must be brought to the fore but also overall thinking that promotes healthy lifestyles and a culture of sustainability in all of its forms.
USD: Two of the awarded projects are campuses. Could you summarize the design concepts for campus design?
Pieprz: The two awards are for vastly different campuses, one an Ivy League campus here in the northeastern U.S. and another a private university in the Mediterranean Middle East.Sasaki's work in campus design is so varied that there are no set approaches or formulas. At the University of Pennsylvania, as with at many other leading American universities, our designs seek to further a vibrant interaction between "town" and "gown." Major institutions like Penn can and should nurture—culturally and economically—their surrounding urban contexts, and vice versa. At Balamand, the challenge was to express the institution's mission and core beliefs. We designed a landscape deeply rooted in the local culture while also proposing an array of solutions that enhanced the relationship between the buildings and the landscape.There is tension between the American tradition of a pastoral, green campus and the urban vibrancy that often surround such campuses. There is an emerging imperative here in the U.S. that colleges and universities, as the engines of economic growth in emerging fields like research and bio technology, must promote healthy surrounding urban neighborhoods in order to attract the best and brightest students and employees. It is our duty as designers to improve the surrounding public realm and while nurturing and expressing the individual architectural and landscape character of each institution.
USD: The theme for the University of Pennsylvania campus design is connection, like the Living/Learning Bridge, the Sports and Recreation Bridge, the Cultural and Health Sciences Bridge, the Research Bridge. How did connection become the design concept?
Pieprz: It came straight from the top – in her inaugural address, University President Amy Gutmann, who has personally overseen every step of the Penn Connects process, called for the university "to engage, locally and globally." Penn Connects is a blueprint for growth over the next half century as well as a means to connect the campus both to the Schuylkill River and to Center City Philadelphia. And so "bridge" became a natural and apt metaphor.A "Living/Learning Bridge" reestablishes a strong Walnut Street axis and connects to Rittenhouse Square Center City; A "Sports/Recreation Bridge" proposes a dramatic new pedestrian-only cable-stay span and incorporates student life programs like a series of sports and recreation parks along the river adjacent to the existing stadium; A "Health Sciences/Cultural Bridge" at South Street and future "Research Bridge" accommodate health care and research endeavors that are critical for both the university's and city's growth. The plan celebrates East Campus's industrial history while establishing a real physical presence for Penn along the banks of the Schuylkill.
USD: The design for the University of Balamand follows your design solutions that are, as you have said, “a synthesis of rigorous analysis, economic realism, environmental responsibility, and cultural awareness.” In the Balamand project statement you said, “The plan re-directs the physical form of the university to establish a civic realm to encourage communication and interdisciplinary learning.” What methods do you use to set up the realm?
Pieprz: The University of Balamand is atop a dramatic hilltop site near Tripoli, north of Beirut. The school's trustees wanted an ambience that bespoke the grandeur of an educational mission but without any obvious religious symbolism, owing to their commitment to inter-faith relations, especially between Christians and Muslims. There are three main axes: An Entry Promenade is planted with a grove of sycamore trees where pedestrians are accorded a priority although the reality of motorized transportation is accommodated, without allowing it to dominate. The Core Area contains numerous courtyards and places of meeting and quiet contemplation. Finally the Path of Learning completes a triangular path back toward the Olive Court and main entry. Purple, pink and green native plantings contrast against the lighter building masonry and paving. The Path of Learning is both an actual and metaphorical link, seeking to bridge the sacred and the secular.
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USD: Could you introduce the design philosophy of SASAKI Associates?
Pieprz: Sasaki is an interdisciplinary design firm where collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas are at the very center of our firm culture. In our landscape architecture practice, our aim is to make enduring landscapes - significant places that will last for generations. This practice is integrated with civil engineering, urban design and architecture to create new designs on diverse and challenging sites including urban waterfronts, college campuses, sensitive environmental areas, and brown-fields.
Time has a different meaning for landscapes, which unlike buildings, must grow and mature to reach their potential. Because Sasaki expects our projects to be in use 50 years or more, we don't design for instant impact or in the style of the moment; our designs transcend style to incorporate lasting qualities and an understanding of the site. Working closely with clients is fundamental to Sasaki's design approach. Clients and larger stakeholders articulate the human needs that are at the basis of any design work; their questions and concerns help us explore many alternatives before reaching the most appropriate landscape solution. We have a deep and abiding respect the public realm; we believe that people need places where they can gather, observe, play, celebrate and feel connected to each other. As a result, public spaces…a city square, a campus quadrangle, a corporate plaza…form the organizing focus of many of Sasaki's designs. Sasaki also collaborates with artists to integrate art into our designs, often immeasurably enriching the public environment.
USD: While looking into the works by SASAKI, we found your designs to be more about functionality and realism rather than being merely stylish, modern, or flamboyant. What is your opinion? How do you encourage landscape architects to be innovative?
Pieprz: We believe that innovation is born of exploring ways to solve problems presented by a site, program or set of client needs. It is often during the rigorous process of inspecting and researching a site that ideas will come as a result of the cross-pollination that takes place among our landscape architects, civil engineers, planners and architects. For example in a waterfront site there might be historical drawings that indicate the presence of a long-abandoned industrial canal. Such a fact can spur a design idea to bring back the canal and have it serve a practical function such as being a storm water collector or a mooring site for kayaks, as is happening at one of our waterfront projects. Often innovative ideas come only after a problem is presented.
USD: SASAKI plays the leading role and urban planner in quite a lot of projects. As we all know SASAKI was a landscape architecture firm, but has become a multi-disciplinary company. How do you think landscape architecture influences planning and urban design?
Pieprz: Landscape architecture deals with land and thus underpins all work in the built environment. It is the topography and vegetation of a particular site that is often the starting point of design thinking and that sets the stage for the Interdisciplinary collaboration that is at the heart of our firm. At Sasaki, no one studio dominates. Each contributes multi-perspective approaches to solving design problems. Firm principals, charged with direct client contact and accountability, orchestrate and inspire the team while tapping into the vast knowledge base within the firm. For example, our Landscape Architecture and Planning and Urban Design inform the work of our Architecture, and vice versa; an Interior Design solution in one project might hold the key to sustainability in another; current work we are doing in China might inspire a creative approach to a project in Cleveland. Supporting this interaction is the firm's balanced ownership structure, which is unique in the industry. While each project is different, each is approached from the unique perspective of a company that has designed things across the full spectrum of the built environment.
USD: SASAKI won the competition of 2008 Beijing Olympics and you are the principal landscape architect. What do you think of the regional and cultural identity of China?
Pieprz: Obviously an important part of the task of an urban designer is studying history and culture and city-building. China evolved the grid and applied it to the planning, construction and ordering of its great imperial capital cities, including Beijing. The idea of the city gate or entry, the principle of the city pole that facilitates orientation, methods of arranging buildings to maximize human comfort and the fostering of a symbiotic relationship between man and nature are representative of city planning ideals that have their genesis in China, and have found application throughout the world. Chinese city planning embraces the principle of a civic order, formed in large part by the creation of open spaces planned and executed at a grand scale. This sense of order, of seeking balance, is manifested in the great landscape and garden design tradition of China. From this rich matrix, there are many ways in which the urban designer, landscape architect and architect can find inspiration, whether or not the project is located within China. Our Beijing Olympic concept is very much tied to the context of Beijing, to the particular urban districts that are adjacent to the Olympic site. The long-term integration of the Olympic site was a key goal of our urban design concept – it must become a living part of the city and thrive well beyond the events of 2008.
USD: SASAKI has lots of projects in China. What do you see in the future of landscape design (both the practice and the business market) in China?
Pieprz: Each project we do in China is unique and is reflective of a particular site and culture, and as designers we must become enmeshed in these specifics, and that requires working closely with clients. Of the numerous competitions we have entered for work in China, we have won almost every one. However, we have generally found this format frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying because of the lack of direct client contact at the critical early design phases. When we have a good, long-term relationship directly with the client—as we have now with a number of Chinese firms—we are able to get at the particulars of the site, the program and the larger contexts of region and culture, tapping into China's rich landscape history for inspiration and guidance.
Because China's economic growth and rural-to-urban migration presents such great challenges, we believe the future of landscape design lies in its integration with the other major design disciplines, especially urban planning and architecture. Landscape architecture is deeply ingrained into our firm's 54-year history. But our interdisciplinary firm structure allows us to take a holistic approach – our experience shows that the most profound and effective design decisions can and should be made in the early planning stages. With the rich history of landscape architecture in China, and our own roots within the landscape architecture discipline, we are very enthusiastic and excited about continuing to be involved in major design work in China.
摘自 景观中国
