Which Comes First, the Stones or the Design?

21 years ago

Another post discussed the landscape designs of Shunmyo Masuno. I was not only struck by the beauty and consistency of his designs, but of his use of stone. These seem so precisely shaped and placed that it caused me to wonder if he has specific stones in mind before he creates a design, or does he design a landscape and then "hope" to find appropriate stones that fit? How does the process work when you're dealing with unique materials?

Here is a link that might be useful: Shunmyo Masuno

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

Herb
21 years ago
Jeff -

Very good question. I don't know of course, but I suspect that there must be three steps -

1. The general design;

2. Selection of potentially suitable stones; and then

3. Such (hopefully minor) adjustments to the design as seem to suit the stones.

Herb
bambooo
21 years ago
The stones came first, they have been here longer than humans. The design must respect that.
Related Professionals
Florence Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Eau Claire Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Sebring Landscape Contractors · Belleville Landscape Contractors · Brooklyn Landscape Contractors · Youngstown Landscape Contractors · Brattleboro Landscape Contractors · Redding Landscape Contractors · Sebring Basement Remodeling · Gloucester Basement Remodeling · Duluth Basement Remodeling · Laconia Basement Remodeling · Aberdeen Basement Remodeling · Monroe Basement Remodeling · Odessa Basement Remodeling
gerald
21 years ago
Hi Jeff,

First comes the concept (the why), then the meaning and understanding of the space, then the direction and desire for the space and then the design.Design usually will take 6 months to two years. All calculations are eventually made (as to exactly how many rocks, where they go etc).

Once the construction phase begins, mountain sides, collecting areas and rock quarries are visited, once a collection site is choosen each rock on the plan is seeked out (we will have desired demensions, weight and feeling for each rock). It begins by looking for the most important rocks, - bridges, waterfalls and the like. Usually for waterfalls the entire arrangement is mocked up at collection site to assure the final arrangement is perfect and then the rock is labeled and moved to the site for final placement.

This process is followed for any high grade rockwork including facing for walls or ground surfaces, groupings and shorelines. They're laid out on the ground, then they are numbered and moved to the site and placed.

Once the main rocks ( usually about 40% of what's needed) are found the rest (the in between rocks) are easily found. Of most importance is choosing the site to collect the rock, it is most desirable that all rock for a particular garden has the same history (that is that they all come from the same place).

Once the correct rock is aquired the rest of the garden will easily fall into place.
There's an old Japanese saying:
To create a garden one must first have the space, a sponser and rock before considering to build.

Gerald
Jeff
Original Author
21 years ago
Hmmm, two years for a design. Now I donÂt feel about the length of time itÂs taken me to do any of my landscaping. Very informative, Gerald. Thanks.
Jeff