Concrete Residential

2AWNESS ¬2ADIANCE¬AND¬2OMANCE

ConsolidatingaRomantic Landscape:

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Poisedupona cliffoverlooking the cityofSheffield,Parkhill re-

flects, in itsunadorned state, thebasicprinciplesofaRomantic

landscape: theedifice setupona craggyhill. The ruinwill remain,

albeit transformed intoa scintillating structure,and the landscape

will continue todrawuponaRomantic

important

conceptof theRomantic landscape is the term ‘Picturesque’.

Inspiredby the ruggedbeautyof thenativeBritish landscape, the

romantic isapoetic response to thebold roughnessofnature.

ThePicturesque framesviews,wherebold craggyoutcrops, craggy

precipices,dramaticwaterfalls,wind swept treesadddepthand

contrast toa scene.According toGilpin, roughnessand ruggedness

“areobservable in the smaller,aswellas in the largerpartsofna-

ture- in theoutline,andbarkofa tree,as in the rude summit,and

craggy sidesofamountain”. (Rogers,!""#,!$%).

It is significant to speakof theRomantic landscape in respect

toParkhill. It isat thispoint in the #&th century that landscape

gardeningwas lifted from itshorticultural roots into the realmof

art.This isdemonstrated in thepopularityofGilpin’swritingon

landscape-bothpopularwithartistsandgardeners. Landscape,

asa thing tobeviewed,gained increasingpopularitywithin the

contextof theGrandTour.Travelwaspurposedby theviewingand

recordingof landscape scenery.Thiswas furtheremphasized in the

developmentof theClaudeGlass,aportable compactof coloured

glassused to frameandmodify thevisualnatureofa landscape.

Through the rose colouredglass,a landscapewas instantlymade

to resemble the soft chiarocusoofa Lorrainpainting.

The landuponwhichParkhillemerges is intrinsically linked to its

historicalaswellasecological foundations.Althoughnota ruined

castle, theconceptof thePicturesque isclearlypresent.Anexposed

cliff surroundedby streamsof carriageways,yetpoised to capture

theviewsof the surrounding landscapeaswellas framing the

veiwsofquotidian life.For thepicturesquewasneveraboutnature

complete in itself,but rather, thatwithabitof carefulmanipula-

tionof textureand composition,amore satisfyingexperience

mightemerge from the landscape.

‘ViewofaRuinedCastleover aGorge’WilliamGilpin