Natural Components in Park Design: Relief, Water Bodies, and Landscape Architecture

Park design has always been inseparable from natural conditions and the master development plan of a city, which dictates the character of the overall spatial concept. The foundation of that concept is the interplay between the elements of architecture and landscape.

The classification of parks based on landscape-genetic characteristics, together with their urban-planning role (city-wide, district) and their size, reveals the patterns behind how landscapes are constructed. The sections below examine the natural components of the park landscape — terrain, water bodies, vegetation, and the particular features of park amenities.

How does terrain shape a park's landscape?

The terrain of a park's site forms the foundation of the scenic architecture: it divides space, either enclosing or opening it, and enables the creation of picturesque views and vista perspectives. Parks laid out on reclaimed land achieve their expressiveness by working with the peculiarities of the man-made relief. Common techniques include:

• using the original forms of a quarry;
• softening the shape of a spoil heap;
• sculptural treatment of terraces;
• options for reusing a spoil heap (full or partial dismantling, transforming the heap into a group of hillocks);
• options for eliminating and reusing excavations and subsidence pits.

Water bodies and water features in parks serve as a means of improving the natural environment, enriching the landscape aesthetically, and creating fully functional recreation areas. Sizeable water bodies, whether natural or artificial, act as the compositional core of a park, influencing the entire architectural and planning solution.

Parks can be distinguished by the character and placement of their water bodies and by the area of their water surface. The main types of parks are:

1. Waterfront parks — the park grounds adjoin a body of water (sea, lake, river, reservoir). These split into three subtypes: mainland, peninsular, and island parks (one or two islands, or more).
2. Parks with large water bodies — the water surface makes up more than 30% of the total park area. Extensive water surfaces favour the creation of sports parks, sometimes referred to as "hydro-parks".
3. Parks with medium water bodies (reservoir, lake, river) — water surfaces account for 15–30%.
4. Parks with small water bodies (stream, pond, lake, water feature) — water surfaces make up up to 15%.

Parks laid out on a seashore are designed around the expanse of water, orienting the leading axes of their alleys towards it and routing esplanades and embankments along the coast. From viewing platforms and terraces the water opens up with boundless horizons, an unfolding panorama of the opposite bank, or a river channel with changing riverbank scenes. A park composition that turns its back on the water leaves an unpleasant impression.

What kinds of water bodies are used in parks?

Water surfaces incorporated into park grounds justify the composition of the scenery, the placement of structures, and the routing of paths.

• natural or artificial;
• large (major rivers, rivers of the 1st–2nd order; lakes and reservoirs of more than 100 ha), medium (3rd-order rivers; reservoirs and ponds of 10–100 ha), and small (4th-order rivers, streams;
• lakes and ponds of less than 10 ha;
• water features);
• deep (more than 3 m), of medium depth (1–3 m), and shallow (up to 1 m);
• flowing (rivers, streams, canals) and still (lakes, reservoirs, ponds);
• extended (rivers, canals), compact (lakes, reservoirs, ponds, pools), or of a continuous form.

Islands enrich a park's composition. They vary in shape and relief; one or two tree species are typically planted on them (pine, spruce, birch, larch, willow). Gazebos, pavilions, monuments, and small bridges are sometimes provided as well. For an island of 0.1 to 0.6 ha, the surrounding water surface should be about 10–12 ha.

The banks of water bodies may be finished as a turfed slope with a stone edge, a slope with stone facing, or a retaining wall with a balustrade. For the banks of a small stream, rough, unworked natural stone can be used.

Which plants are used in park construction?

Park construction in Ukraine draws widely on more than 180 species of trees and shrubs and around 200 species of herbaceous plants. When selecting them, plants are divided into a core assortment (native species or those long established in cultivation) and a supplementary assortment.

The backbone of plantings designed for large areas should be the principal forest-forming species: spruce, pine, oak, linden, birch. The use of the supplementary assortment depends on the size and function of the site and is chiefly reserved for creating accents in form, colour, and texture. Plantings must be biologically stable and, in the way species are combined, close to natural stands.

Identifying the principal park-forming species suited to the forest-site conditions — climate, terrain, and soils — of the area being developed relies on two methods of assessing forest-site conditions: dominants of the vegetation cover, and phytoindication of climate and soils.

The phytoindication method uses the following classification units: type of plot, type of forest, and type of stand. Working from a forest-inventory, geobotanical, or soil survey of the land allotted for the park, the likely composition of the main park-forming species is determined.

Creating parks on treeless territories takes account of the natural conditions: terrain, the depth of the groundwater table, and the specifics of difficult soil and climatic conditions (Kazakhstan, the conditions of northern cities).

• creating park plantings on the model of forest crops, followed by thinning (densely spaced plantings);
• creating temporary plantings of fast-growing species;
• allocating special key locations in the park design for planting mature trees — up to 10%;
• a clear volumetric-spatial organisation of the park grounds with lawns, flower beds, and groups of trees and shrubs.

Having weighed the contribution that nature makes to shaping places for people to rest, we must remember that the condition of nature and its beauty depend on us.