From Empty to Evergreen: Gardens as Architectural Design Forces

This study reframes gardens from decorative elements to active, generative agents in architectural design. It investigates how gardens shape spatial systems, support social interaction, and catalyze ecological processes in urban contexts. Four case studies from Tanatap Café, Ring, Frame, Wall, and Canopy Gardens show that gardens do more than enhance aesthetics; they initiate new design strategies and spatial organizations. Using a force-based framework, the study identifies spatial qualities, experiential conditions, and preferred configurations to reveal how gardens influence material, ecological, and social dimensions. Findings are organized into three themes. (1) Residue to Rules: Garden as Generator positions gardens as producers of spatial structure. (2) Edge that Breathes: Porosity as Threshold interprets garden boundaries as active membranes that enable interaction and ecological flow. (3) Frame is the Form: Typology as Emergent demonstrates how garden arrangements generate new urban types. By presenting gardens as essential ecological and functional components, the study contributes to ecological urbanism and argues for shifting from viewing nature as complementary to a nurturing, formative force in urban design.

Iñaki Abalos

Professor in Residence, Department of Architecture, GSD, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA

Orazio Carpenzano

Dean, Facoltà di Architettura, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome

Yung Ho Chang

Professor of Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

Winka Dubbeldam

Miller Professor and Chair of Architecture at Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Brian Ford

Professor Emeritus, Department of Architecture & Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

Hsinming Fung

Professor, SCI-Arc, Los Angeles CA, USA

Carlo Gasparrini

Professor of Urbanism, Dipartimento di Architettura, Universita' degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

Marco Imperadori

Professor of Design and Technological Innovation and Chancellor’s Delegate for the Far East, Politecnico di M

Rahul Mehrotra

Professor of Urban Design and Planning, GSD, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA

Antoine Picon

Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology, GSD, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA

Mónica Ponce de León

Dean, School of Architecture, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, USA

Jane Rendell

Professor, The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, London, UK

Peter Rich

Professor of Architecture, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa

Michael Speaks

Dean, School of Architecture, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY, USA

Martha Thorne

Hon FRIBA, Hon COAM, Director of Strategic and Institutional Relations, the Gallery Institute, Portugal

C David Tseng

Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Chiao-Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

Li Xiangning

Deputy Dean, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

From Empty to Evergreen: Gardens as Architectural Design Forces

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