Roberto Burle Marx: the landscape architect who was first to shed light on the deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest

with more than thirty botanical species bearing his name, the didactic language of Marx’s landscape designs aims to construct a vernacular identity for Latin America that preserves urban forestry

,A msi lbRvms Abg mb B 1vigas -vBynpnBg .Bmsbpna ebmsiv lvbe -vBynpDA Rooiv apBAA Bgz Bg ien ’vBgm iveBg iJnAs lBmsiv lvbe msi anmh bl vniv iveBgh ;brivmb -Rvpi Bv, JBA rbvg Bgz vBnAiz ng -vBynp tiv msi AoBg bl snA aBviiv si ziznaBmiz sneAipl mb Amboong’ msi zi AmvRamnbg bl -vBynpDA ,eBybg vBnglbviAm Bmng ,eivnaBDA piBzng’ mJigmnims aigmRvh pBgzAaBoi Bvasnmiam Bgz B onbgiiv bl msi ebzivg BvmA -Rvpi Bv, JBA JnmgiAA mb znllivigm lbveA bl aRpmRvBp i,oviAAnbg aberngng’ anmh tBpRiA Bgz pBgzAaBoiA Bm B mnei Jsig ovbliAAnbgBp Aoi anBpnyBmnbg JBA riabeng’ i,migAnti vbliAAbv Bvims bsivmh nviambv bl msi BAmiv ng BgzAaBoi ,vasnmiamRvi vb’vBe Bm msi BvtBvz 5gntivAnmh vBzRBmi asbbp bl iAn’g

Bgz vbliAAbv -BvrBvB -bnlBtB Jsb aBvvniz bRm viAiBvas BA Bm msi RBt 5gntivAnmh bl 0ignai rbms AmRzniz -Rvpi Bv,DA Jbvc JBpcng’ RA msvbR’s Bg ng zioms AmRzh bg msi -vBynpnBg asBvBa miv msBm si ngAmnppiz ng snA ovbdiamA Bpp btiv msi Jbvpz

Bvims bsivmh abeeigaiA 0 - the time of Burle Marx’s birth in 1909, Brazil was emerging as a new Republic; founded just twenty years earlier and searching for an identity. This is one of the reasons the Modern movement was evident in Brazil, epitomized through Brasilia. Burle Marx was first confronted with the wealth of native Brazilian flora in the Dahlem Botanic Gardens in Berlin. Over time he instilled Brazilian character in his work, through the use of plants. Burle Marx’s public landscapes are filled with activities as people go about their everyday lives.

- , ., - - - oRvobAi bl msi ’Bvzig nA mb ri B AoBmnBp abgznmnbg bl abeeRgnmh pnli The Garden as a Way of Life, p.124» , zBrrpiv ng rbmBgh Bgz Bg i,oivm bg sbvmnaRpmRvi -Rvpi

Bv, abppiamiz Bg igAierpi bl BvbRgz opBgm AoianiA Jsnas si ng vimRvg zbgBmiz mb msi -vBynpnBg ’btivgeigm i JBA BpAb ’nlmiz ng snA Brnpnmh mb AoiBc msi eBgh pBg’RB’iA neoivB mnti mb abgtih snA nziBA mb bRmAnzivA Bgz nm JBA msvbR’s msiAi znAabtivniA msBm si JBA lvbe then on, able to forge the field of landscape architecture in Brazil; a convoluted approach mb pnli Jnms Bg igzpiAA rbRgzBvh nAopBhng’ msi itbpRmnbg bl snAmbvnaBp Bgz aRpmRvBp neobvmBgai Bgz abeovisigAnbg msvbR’sbRm mnei si mbbc ngmb abgAnzivBmnbg msi Abanimh Bgz msi igtnvbg eigm BA Bg Bam bl ngapRAnbg

svbR’s siv viAiBvas bg msi mbona bl pBgzAaBoi Bgz nmA abggiamnbgA Jnms BvasnmiamRvi Bgz msi RvrBg AaigBvnb -bnlBtB i,opBngA -Rvpi Bv,DA AhgmB, bl msi ebzivg lbRvms gBmRvi «His projects exemplify a concept of the fourth nature, dictating a new category of nature: the nature of the city. The three different categories of nature already described in the literature of landscape studies and specifically by landscape historian John Dixon Hunt: a first nature, understood as wild and unspoilt, is linked to a second nature defined by Cicero as cultural landscape, a man-made and productive nature shaped by human activity. These two categories are joined by the third nature of the garden, shaped for aesthetic purposes and conceived as a combination of nature and culture. A fourth nature is distinguished by the idea of a recognized ecological paradigm and staging a new functional aesthetic of gardens and urban landscapes» nms oviAigm ovbrpieA ARas BA pbAA bl snAmbvh zilbviAmBmnbg JBAmi pBgzA obppRmnbg Bgz sBrnmBm zi’vBzBmnbg zigAi abeeRgnmniA ARraRpmRviA Bgz msi Asvngcng’ bl anmniA rvng’ AmviAA ngAmB rnpnmh Bgz lvB’npnmh mb AbanimniA «Burle Marx’s work lies, above all else, in - (- - )( that underlies all his projects, interpreting the specific tropical nature – from the limited scale of the mbnm dBvzng to the subsequent projects for private gardens, parkways, public squares and large urban parks – giving reason for a continuum in the invention of a modern landscape»

-Rvpi Bv, BvvBg’iz i,oiznmnbgA BavbAA -vBynp mb viabtiv i,Bengi Bgz abppiam ngzn’igbRA Aoi aniA bl opBgmA ,pbg’ Jnms B ’vbRo bl AanigmnAmA ziAn’givA Bgz ’BvzigivA si znAabtiviz btiv

lbvmh mvbonaBp opBgmA Abei bl Jsnas riBv snA gBei g msiAi mvnoA -Rvpi Bv, ’vBAoiz msi eB’gnmRzi bl zilbviAmBmnbg Bgz RvrBgnyBmnbg Bpp msvbR’sbRm vi’nbgA bl -vBynp Jsnas ’Bti sne ebvi bl Bg ngaigmnti mb riabei Bg BztbaBmi lbv msi abgAivtBmnbg Bgz ABli’RBvzng’ bl -vB ynpnBg lbviAm pBgzA 1vbe snA Jbvc iznmng’ msi rbbc mnmpiz Roberto Burle Marx Lectures: Landscape as Art and Urbanism bsivmh i,opBngA «Burle Marx believed that landscape architects have the responsibility of seeking social and environmental justice. Through the plant-hunting expeditions he conducted with friends and colleagues in the Brazilian interior. He was exposed to environmentally destructive practices that he protested. He had to challenge the destruction of the Amazon and other landscapes and the eradication of native Brazilian flora from their habitats. In a lecture, si Bvzig BA B 1bve bl ,vm he says it is for the landscape architect to try and prevent the destruction of the natural countryside» nA abppiamnbg bl opBgm pnli ng msi u mnb JBA mb ri msi AmBvmng’ obngm mb vigziv B ebzivg AmBmRA BoopnaBrpi Bm B pBv’iv RvrBg AaBpi bl msi anmh bsivmh BgBphyiA «the Sítio is located about one and a half hours from the city of Rio and was a testing ground. There, Burle Marx lived and painted, entertained guests, and tested different plants and materials by observing them in relation to other plants and materials, volumes, textures, light and time. The chácara (small farm), located next to the Sítio, propagated the plants for the landscapes that Burle Marx designed, from specimens collected from the countryside and interior. They related to the professional design office in Rio, and the maintenance crew that took care of many of the private gardens. This full-service led to a creative design process that ranged from plant propagation, design and maintenance»

si viAiBvas abgzRamiz Bm umnb Jsnas JBA dRAm viaigmph gBeiz BA B 5 0 . bvpz ivnmB’i nmi Jas enhanced by some of the scientific expeditions conducted to seek out botanical spe aniA msvbR’sbRm msi vi’nbgA bl -vBynp ngaviBAng’ -Rvpi Bv,DA pBgzAaBoi tbaBrRpBvh -bnlBtB i,opBngA «in 1949, the landscape architect created a large ecological-experimental laboratory at the Sítio, which still houses the largest collection of Brazilian live plants in systematic form. In this open-air laboratory, a botanical garden, the multifaceted Brazilian artist practiced disciplines including drawing, painting, engraving, sculpture, mosaic, tapestry, textile printing, stage design and jewelry art. An amateur botanist and experienced horticulturist, Burle Marx was dedicate -) , ) servation of plant associations that he called artificial ecological associations. Synthesizing scientific experience and artistic creation, his plant collection became the seed for the construction of reproducible plant and mineral elements aimed at a new socio-cultural image in landscape design and reflecting a partially lost Latin American tradition» i BacgbJpiz’iz msi zimvneigm Bgz msviBm bl vBonz zilbviAmBmnbg obAiz ng msi ,eBybg AoiBcng’ oRrpnaph BrbRm msi giiz mb ovbmiam -vBynpDA gBmnti lbviAmA Bgz msBm msi ziabgAmvRamnbg bl msiAi gBmRvBp igtnvbgeigmA JBA gbm msi AbpRmnbg g Bg ngmivtniJ abgzRamiz ng si abgliAAiz 0I am concerned about what is happening to the world’s natural resources and, in particular, to the Amazon region. It is a crime that thirty percent of the virgin forests are dying. Brazilians are largely responsible, but foreigners are also exploiting the regio(»

0,opbvng’ Bgz RAng’ opBgm AoianiA msBm Bvi gBmnti mb -vBynp Bgz Bmng ,eivnaB ARoobvmng’ msi conservation and awareness of the native flora Bgz abgaRvvigmph Aiicng’ Bgz i,oivneigmng’ Jnms tivABmnpi opBgmA lvbe Bpp btiv msi Jbvpz JBA -Rvpi Bv,DA ebzRA boivBgzn sBgcA mb snA knowledge of botany and geology, his selection of trees, shrubs and flowers in various sizes

Bgz abpbvA aviBmiz B msvii-dimensional configurative beauty Jsnas pBmiv bg riaBei bgi bl msi basic trademarks of typical Brazilian landscape architecture. With his search to find harmonious balance in landscapes, he managed to offer solutions; neobAng’ BiAmsimna bvzivA bg msi rbmBg naBp igtnvbgeigm ng Bg illbvm mb abgAbpnzBmi B ’Bvzig Jnms nmA bRmzbbvA «Burle Marx introduced a portion of tropical forest into the city, designing a composition of parterres with amoeboid shapes generated by the juxtaposition of the native plants used, creating .(.,. , - ( perceptive effects in the city which translate the identity significance of South American flora»

-imJiig Bgz msi .nmh bl ;nb zi Bginvb Jipabeiz pBgzAaBoi Bvasnmiam -Rvpi Bv, mb i,Bengi msi vipBmnbgAsno rimJiig msi anmh Bgz gBmRvi rh vigbtBmng’ msi riBaslvbgm BtigRi ng .boBaBrBgB -bms msi BamRBp riBas Bgz BtigRi Jivi vipbaBmiz mb eBci vbbe lbv msi oiziA trian and vehicular traffic. On the side closest to the city, he designed a 100 foot wide oBti eigm Bpbg’ Jsnas Bg BvvBh bl nApBgzA Jivi iAmBrpnAsiz BA B AoBai lbv viAm Bgz AbanBp ngmivBa mnbg i benmmiz msi mhonaBp abgaiom bl Bzzng’ abgmngRbRA pngiA bl mviiA Bgz ngAmiBz ziAn’giz Bg ngmvnaBmi abeobAnmnbg ngabvobvBmng’ msi bvmR’RiAi mvBznmnbg Jipp cgbJg ng msi anmh bl ;nb bl abtivng’ msi oBtieigmA Jnms rpBac Bgz Jsnmi ebABna oniaiA i,ieopnlhng’ msi baiBg JBtiA i sBz snA bJg JBh bl oBngmng’ Jnms mviiA mb aviBmi abeovisigAnti Bgz BAheeimvna abeobAnmnbgA

i lbv’iz gbtip Bgz BvmnAmna absiAnbg rbms ng miveA bl lbve Bgz abpbv BAAivmng’ msi RAi bl bvn’ngBp Bgz Rgabeebg miasgnfRiA msBm asBppig’iz msi bvzngBvh ngmivovimBmnbg bl mvbonaBp pBgz AaBois, as well as using patterns of exaggerated scales, reflected in this case study with the RAi bl bvmR’RiAi JBti oBmmivgA -Rvpi Bv, abgtihiz msi aRvtiA bl gBmRvi ng Bg RvrBg abg AmvRamnbg lbv msi anmh i,oBgzng’ mb lbRv cnpbeimivA ng pig’ms Bpbg’ msi .boBaBrBgB riBas si ziAn’g JBA BrbRm ebtieigm rbms msi pnmivBp lbbmlBpp bl msi -vBynpnBg anmnyigA Bgz msi aRvtng’ bv’Bgna AsBoiA bl msi ovbeigBzi bAng’ BA msi onggBapi bl tnARBpph AmneRpBmng’ oRrpna AoBai one does not simply walk the promenade; one dances to the beat of the tango which comes

utm la y ah o u2dl2ma t y ; yho5 a «Burle Marx defines the profile of a modern urban parkway squeezed between the ocean and the vertical city. This beachfront comes to life with t black and white sinusoidal wave pattern adopted from the Portuguese mosaic paving tradition. Period photographs show that this pattern originally existed along Copacabana beach but ran perpendicular to the waves of the sea. Copacabana represents the apex of an all-encompassing garden, as the architect Pietro Maria Bardi defined in 1964, author of the first monograph on Roberto Burle Marx, which marks the entire Atlantic front of Rio and which still gives us the image of a modern park system». These black, white and reddish-brown cobblestones of five by five centimeters were originally inspired by the Portuguese Praça do Rocio in Lisbon, sym to g i5 l2 m l i5 t l2 . l ua t l2 ft y u i; l2 a and commemorating floods i a ti ;hu i5 l2 52l il2 ilhud

2 tmsta l ti t . y a a ma a huo uB . a s il i5 iy a l2 l alu l 2 ; thl l2u r otm l ua oti5 u l i i5 l2 lu ; l ti o . yd a us il o r s ll ui t l2 mta s y m il ty u i5 l2 2 util l . a l2 o i;a s u 2 l lba tu 2 alu l ti t l2 ldba sutm i ; a i; 5u i as a l2 l ; ; i ; y a i5 t ; i utba a i5ho u ; il ld ti l2 l a al oo su y o il hil o l2 a ; d i 2 a .tur i uvh ; o -al huo uB . a o lt ti

u 2 a ; t hu i ; m ia ti i l2 i gh o i i lhu 2 a s ur al i;a a ti t l2 mtal recognized urban green areas in Latin America of the twentieth century. Doherty affirms that l2 o i;a s u 2 l l a a o i;a s i; hu i am a ti il ld «he wanted to create gardens for people and bring, in his words, dignity to their way of life. Burle Marx tells us that the function of the landscape architect today is to make known the part a garden has to play in the cities of our lives, in that sense he did not distinguish between landscape and urban»

t l ; i u a i gh o . l2 i u t u a i; m oo ti y a ltua s u d u a

uvh ; o -al h ol tu l2 ; y otsm il t 2 u l u itl tiod a u astia lt l2 hi2 ol2d o y i5 ti; l tia t l2 i;halu o ld l ; al i5h a2 ; l2 ytohl ti t l2 ld 2 a sutf l

oot. ; l2 sh o s ura t u a lt so d ; u il uto i l2 hu i 2 altud t l2 ld utm l2 holhu ; .u i 2 hu i am t l2 l. il l2 ilhud oo estvh lt l2 htd il luts o am t l2 mt; ui u t l2 a i 2 a t.i .tu;a t ult huo uB ; a u ; l2 uvh ; o -al a 5 u; i t hlt 2l2titha i gh o i so ila 2 s ur i l2 u shuah a l2 ilut as l y s lhu avh i i l il2 ilhud itu l2 a ia od sut5u mm ; uod lt m ; l. il

l2 ilhud s ur mt; oa i; l2 u o l tia2 s l. i l2 y a ltu i; l2 o i;a s a itl ti that fixates on the material encounters of the landscape. The plant collections in the park are ohal u ; lt5 l2 u 2 ti slh o ; 2 i; l . a lt mhol sod ti so il i o u5 5uths t l2 a m as a lt m 5i d la 2 u l u al tum m r i5 l ad tu s tso lt itl l2 m

2 B uts2dl 5 u; i l2 l a 2tm lt so ila o r , agaves i; yuccas; l2 2d5uts2dl 5 u; i l2 l ; aso da vh l so ila ah 2 a Nymphea i; Thalias; the palme lhm 5 u; i that represents the tropical rainforest; the arboretum garden that hosts a myriad of palms, autochthonous trees; and the patios of the garden of the urban courtyard. «Exotic botanical specimens were used to enhance the visual and figurative richness of the plant col

. In a lecture given in 1954 at the School of Design North Carolina State College, Burle Marx stated: wherever we find a gap in our plant vocabulary, this can be filled by an exotic plant .2 2 2 umti g a . l2 l2 o i;a s These tropical stage sets were conceived to safeguard and enrich the city’s ecosystem, preventing the transformation and destruction of an environment whose preservation could only be guaranteed by ecological awareness»

i ;; l ti huo uB shuah ; l2 i aa ld t tum i5 viveiro tu ihua ud u . l2 i the park, that he dedicated to the continuous supply of otherwise difficult-to-find plants.

2 a . a l2 so .2 u l2 o y m l u o 5 l2 u ; utm 2 a B hua tia .tho; tm mt; l ; i; r sl hi; u t a uy l ti tu a y u o mtil2a tu i5 hsuttl ; ti a l 2 collection of plants was considered a sequence of ecological gardens; complex plant compo a l tia t .2 l Burle Marx called artificial ecological associations, exotic plants from multiple luts o thilu a l2 l tum o i5h 5 i uvh ; o -al l2 tu al . a shusta ; lt a2 o; l2 5ut.l2 t i il u od i . tmmhi ld t i l y i; iti i l y as a «Burle Marx’s curves are particular, it is difficult to emulate his work in any formal sense. It is the multifaceted relationships between activism, art, botany, conservation, ethics and texture, that make Burle Marx’s landscape architecture successful and interesting. The multi-dimensional landscape architect engaged in the environmental, human, and aesthetic ecologies in his projects,

ieving that it was imperative to have a garden play a role in cities»

i l l2 i; t 2 a o huo uB ;ti l ; 2 a suts uld - i luhal t sutas u ld

- lt l2 u g o i 5ty uim il i; i ; ; l 2 a 2tm t y ti oh; a - ch project stages the celebration of a biodiversity that becomes an expression of Brazilian modernity. In this way, Burle Marx enriched the plant vocabulary by using new forms and colors that translated aesthetic and plastic intentions, demonstrating limitations inherent in botanical research and experimentation characterized by an ecological disposition towards nature as a primary aspect of Brazilian modernist identity and culture»