Samenvatting

This vademecum allows us to look at landscape in a different way.
Landscape here is not considered as a static image, a picture painted by
nature or designed by man. It is, instead, considered as the temporary
result of social, economic and political movements, as a snapshot in
the continuous interaction between patterns of human occupation
and natural processes. Does this ‘deromanticize’ the landscape? Not
necessarily, since images of the landscape can still please the eye. We
only acquire another understanding of the origin, of the reason for this
esthetic appeal. And it becomes clear that this seduction — unlike that
of a painted landscape — is by definition not static, not permanent. This
vademecum is an inspiration to see, to understand the landscape as the
enjoyable product of constantly changing processes and machinations, of
good intentions and careless acts, of pointed interventions and ‘laissezfaire’. Moreover, it forces us to reconsider our definition of landscape. And
thus it is also a handbook, a genuine ‘go with me’ that can help designers
find inspiration in this dynamic way of looking and understanding for
their continuous work on designing and redesigning the landscape.