Planting Design – Plant Usage Techniques in Landscape Architecture

Prof. Dr. Ahmet Cengiz Yıldızcı’s book titled “Bitkilendirme Tasarımı - Peyzaj Mimarlığında Bitkilerin Kullanım Teknikleri” (Planting Design - Plant Usage Techniques in Landscape Architecture), prepared with the aim of creating a scientific and practice-oriented resource for both landscape architecture and architecture students and practitioners, has been published by YEM Yayın.

The book, which serves as a guide for understanding, interpreting, and adapting nature to living spaces, was published with the valuable contributions of Beaton Urban Furniture, Çepkan Çiçekçilik, Işık Peyzaj, Karaoğlu Peyzaj, Onduline, and Yeşilvadi companies.

Ahmet Cengiz Yıldızcı, stating that “Planting design is not merely about selecting plant species; it is about understanding the space, evaluating the climatic data of the space, observing ecological balance, and blending aesthetic sensibility with technical knowledge,” summarizes the content and purpose of the book as follows:

“This work presents information on plants across a wide spectrum, from their genera to species, from their forms to colors, from their ecological needs to their aesthetic potentials. My aim is to create a scientifically based and practical resource for both landscape architecture and architecture students and practitioners.

In the book “Planting Design,” the ecological, architectural, aesthetic, and functional potentials of trees, shrub group plants, groundcover, and climbing plants, along with their usage techniques in space design, are explained.

The objectives and techniques of planting design, within a hierarchy ranging from building level to urban level, have been attempted to be explained with example projects designed by me, including residential and rooftop gardens, mass housing landscape arrangements, squares, parks, botanical and zoological gardens, and thematic garden designs.

In urban design and planning, the design techniques of plants used for noise control, air improvement, and dust retention, with the aim of improving urban climate, planning, and physical environmental conditions, have also been explained.

I wish for this book to contribute to the qualified design of green spaces, with the awareness that planting design is not only aesthetically pleasing but also a constantly changing, sustainable system...”

The book “Planting Design,” whose publication preparations and graphic design were carried out by Landscape Architect Çağla Yıldız, consists of the following main sections:

Section 1: USE OF PLANTS AS DESIGN ELEMENTS

1. Plants as Ceiling (Canopy) Elements
2. Plants as Vertical Space Dividers
3. Ground Cover Plants
4. Climbing Plants
5. Palm Genus Plants

Section 2: ARCHITECTURAL AND AESTHETIC POTENTIALS OF PLANTS

1. Visual Potential
2. Two-Dimensional Element Potential
3. Three-Dimensional Element Potential
4. Functional Potentials of Plants in Design

Section 3: USE OF PLANTS IN SPACE DESIGN

1. Concept of Space
2. Formal Diversity of Space
3. Perception of Space
4. Space Design and Plants
5. Types of Enclosure in Planting
6. Strengthening Design
7. Functional Implementation in Vegetative Design

Section 4: PLANTING DESIGN PROCESS

1. Definition of Project Functions
2. Investigation of Physical and Natural Environment
3. Expected Functions from the Project Area
4. Creating the Design Concept
5. Determining Plant Species and Standards for Design

Section 5: PLANTING DESIGN TECHNIQUES

1. At Building Level
2. Mass Housing Gardens
3. Children's Playgrounds
4. Parks
5. Thematic Parks
6. Squares
7. Roadside Landscape
8. Use of Plants in Physical Environment Control           

APPENDICES

1. Tree Species by Leaf Types
2. Groundcover Plants
3. Plant Species by Their Forms
4. Plants with Autumn Color
5. Wind-Resistant Plants
6. Flood-Resistant Plants
7. Plants According to Soil Requirements

WHO IS PROF. DR. AHMET CENGİZ YILDIZCI?

He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry in 1969. Between 1969 and 1972, he worked as a Landscape Designer at the Ministry of Forestry, Department of National Parks. Following this, he served as an assistant in the Department of Park, Garden, and Landscape Architecture at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Forestry, from 1972 to 1973. Between 1973 and 1975, he worked as a landscape planner at the Green Spaces and Parks Directorate of Paris-Haut de Seine in France. He then returned to Turkey and completed his doctorate (1977) at the Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture, ITU. In the same year, he was appointed as an assistant to the Department of Urban Design and Urban Renewal at the Faculty of Architecture, ITU. From 1978 to 1979, he worked as a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture, Laval University, Canada, with a UNESCO scholarship. In 1982, he became an associate professor at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture, ITU, and was appointed as a full professor in 1988. In 1987, he played an active role in the establishment of the Landscape Architecture Department at Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry, and served as the Coordinator of the Urban Landscape Planning Master's Program within the ITU Institute of Science and Technology.
In 2002, he founded the first Landscape Architecture Department within a Faculty of Architecture in Turkey and served as its head until 2011. He also founded and directed the ITU Institute of Science and Technology Landscape Architecture Master's and Ph.D. Programs, supervising 122 master's and 9 doctoral theses during this period.

Yıldızcı served as the Presidential Advisor responsible for Landscape Affairs at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality between 1991 and 1994, and at the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality between 1995 and 1999. He undertook the role of Head of the Natural Structure Group in the 2004-2006 Istanbul Environmental Plan prepared by the Istanbul Metropolitan Planning Office and the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Environmental Plan. He has authored 82 landscape projects within ITU Revolving Fund, Environmental and Urbanization Civilized Center, ITU Foundation, and ITU Development Foundation; he has also served as a jury member or won awards in 24 professional competitions. After retiring in 2011, he established ÇEVSA (Environmental and Health Services Inc.) Landscape Architecture company and continued his work until 2020.

Throughout his academic life and during his time at ÇEVSA, he has undertaken many important projects both at home and abroad.

He was honored with the “Award for Contribution to Landscape Architecture Education” by the Chamber of Landscape Architects of TMMOB in 2010 and the “8th National Landscape Architecture Honor Award” in 2016. In 2013, he was awarded the ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) Award with the HEBİL 157 Project.