Landscapes of Dean Cardasis


Durfee Garden and Bartlett Court on the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus, and the Plastic Garden
© Dean CardasisWe were taken with these modern gardens by landscape architect Dean Cardasis, Associate Professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the Director of the James Rose Center. The playful yet refined use of built elements of the Durfee Garden and the Plastic Garden create special outdoor spaces year-round. Bartlett Court is a contemplative garden that highlights the geology and traditions of New England with a serene style reminiscent of Japanese gravel gardens.

Link: Dean Cardasis
Visit: UMass Amherst

The Durfee Garden at UMass Amherst
© Dean Cardasis
"A series of five contemporary interlocking garden spaces inspired by historic agricultural and landscape typologies"

© Dean Cardasis
"The translucent quality of the conservatory is echoed by screens that highlight members of an ancient grove while defining edges to a contemplative meditation garden."

© Dean Cardasis
"The entry courtyard and adjacent prospect overlook a glade. Here flat stones from the nearby Berkshire Hills and round stones from the Connecticut River Valley define the path, composing with an existing beech and spruce; as well as with new plantings of birch and mountain laurel."

© Dean Cardasis
"The glade contains ten different types of turf grasses, as well as over forty species of perennials on its borders. Pressed slightly into the earth and surrounded by sociable niches, the glade is further articulated by eleven eighteen foot tall translucent trellises upon which pink wisteria and morning glory twine."

© Dean Cardasis

© Dean Cardasis
"The space-defining screens continue to reveal a play of light, now at its lowest angles in relation to snow and rock compositions"

Bartlett Court
© Dean Cardasis
"Whether viewed from inside the building or from a discrete gateway, the space is the subject. It provides a touchstone to imagine and invites contemplation on that which defines it."

© Dean Cardasis
"Rock fragments and assembled blocks of basalt tumble through the traditional New England walls onto the excavated peastone terrace, suggesting a moment frozen in place and weaving an original expression of retaining wall."

© Dean Cardasis

A Plastic Garden
© Dean Cardasis
"The Plastic Garden fractures space and light to create useful, playful space for a young family and the children of their neighborhood."

© Dean Cardasis
Playful, light-transforming, plastic panels reach out from the "plastic house" (clad in vinyl siding) and engage the woodland © Dean Cardasis


Comments Add Comments

failures of post modern landscape architecture
Posted by john sendelbach on 3/2/2008 4:17:00 AM

durfee garden has been widely criticized for various reasons. there is a dirth of poisonous pressure treated lumber, which is totally inappropriate for a public work, especially by a landscape architect who should be setting an example by heralding sustainable design ethics. much of that wood was rotted and was replaced this summer....that never should happen with a public project. the pink plexiglass columns are a maintenance nightmare and just plain wrong for a historic space such as durfee. some of the stonework is downright hazardous to users, with sharp edging rocks jutting up as "trippers" around the edge of the main lawn. the main circulation route through the garden was directly over the ancient beeches and ginkgo, some of which have suffered greatly. the educational aspect of the garden is a total flop, i honestly would not take a student there to learn, unless it was what not to do. further analysis reveals more weaknesses in the designer's abilities.

bartlett court is a very un-loved space totally jammed into a space that does not call for such a design. i have visited it on many occasions, and have yet to see anyone use the space. those pictures shown above were obviously staged, no one uses that space, period...as is indicated by the unkempt nature of the plantings and the gravel and small rocks that are messily strewn around.

the plastic garden is an absolute offense to the senses of anyone who studies design. it relates to nothing, other than the designer's penchant for emulating the sad and largely unpreserved works of james rose. a lot of his work is gone now, because it was bad, un-ecologically sensible design....yet the designer continually rides rose's coattails.

go to cardasis's website and see the "award winning" strolling garden...my firm tore it out and replaced it at the client's request.....as it was a design that was rammed through without the designer listening to the needs and desires of the client. they could not stand their own "award winning" garden !!!

the designer recently won a veteran's memorial competition that i was involved in. there is a lawsuit pending on that one, based on the perceived mismanagement of contest rules by the officials, and possible bid rigging and other inside dealings by the "winning team". their design came in at about twice what the alloted budget was, and should have been disqualified from the competition when that was ascertained....rather, they pushed it through and cheated the other 15 contestants out of a fair competition. his design there is similarly criticized for not fitting the context and really just sitting there in a bubble of non-genius loci.

disrespectfully submitted,

john sendelbach

(js is a former graduate student of cardasis's, and knows intimately the unfair and biased views this professor takes when it comes to teaching and design. sendelbach has 4 public works in the town of amherst, none of which specify undurable materials such as pt lumber and plexiglass. cardasis tried to flunk js out of the department...while other professors extolled his virtues as a student and designer... google search "john sendelbach")

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