Establishing a Framework for Landscape Narrative Exploration Within Seattle's Pioneer Square Historic District

Abstract

Landscape narratives have the ability to transport a visitor into the intimate realm of place: kinesthetically, through immersion, or abounding with ethos. This thesis examines the application of landscape narratives as a tool for describing place. By addressing ideas of space production and narrative within the landscape, I assemble a framework that, when applied in the design process, reveals place meaning through the use of landscape narratives. Citing the recognized work of Henri Lefebvre (1991b), I address the implications of the spatial dialectic on the creation of space and further illustrate its re-conception from Edward Soja (1996) before considering how the dialectic and trialectic construction of space can be appropriated into design. Turning my attention to narrative, I outline the construction of meaning in space into spatial narratives using Potteiger and Purinton (1998) as a cornerstone. I address the need for narratives, types of landscape narratives and how they are told through built forms before synthesizing these ideas to present a theoretical framework - the Landscape Narrative Framework. It is this framework that I base an examination of case studies to yield seven landscape practices that embody the Landscape Narrative Framework. I apply this framework through a narrative design exploration of Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington prioritizing several periods of Pioneer Square's history as a way to establish a narrative in addition to further site analysis. The Landscape Narrative Framework is successful in establishing a cohesive landscape narrative over several city blocks which, when applied, rely heavily on the established landscape practices as the translation of these elements. While the design exploration focuses on several city blocks, extrapolation of the framework to the district level is possible to more fully explore the nuances of place. Conversely, the abstracted qualities of the Landscape Narrative Framework allow for small-scale temporal installations; however there are trade-offs between scale and the political implications inherently found landscape narratives.