By: Dingwen Wu
Author Bio
Dingwen is a landscape and urban designer based in New York City. Originally from Shanghai, China, he was deeply influenced by the beauty of nature and the vibrancy of urban spaces. He studied urban design at the Technical University of Munich and earned a master’s degree in landscape architecture and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Throughout his career, Dingwen has built a diverse global portfolio. His work focuses on the aesthetics and harmony between humans and nature. Passionate about creating awe-inspiring moments in everyday life, he navigates his design projects with a keen sense of innovation and purpose.
We Are All Storytellers
Humans are connected by stories. In A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari explains that Homo sapiens may have come to dominate the planet in part because of their ability to cooperate in large numbers. This cooperation could stem from their capacity to believe in shared myths—religions, nations, money, and human rights—none of which exist outside the human imagination.
Unlike other animals, humans do not merely communicate warnings or basic needs. Our language allows us to tell complex stories about past events, imagined futures, and abstract ideas. This ability to construct and believe in fictional realities may enable us to work together, innovate, and shape the world around us.
Design can be seen as an extension of this storytelling ability. Landscape architects, architects, and urban planners often create visions of the future that influence decisions, allocate resources, and transform spaces. Through these narratives, landscapes are reshaped, cities are built, and societies evolve.
Landscape Architects as Narrators
But is landscape itself a narrative? Anne Spirn, in The Language of Landscape, argues that landscape can often be read, written, and imagined. It is a potential form of storytelling that influences how we live and interact with our environment. If narrative is a sequence of events arranged meaningfully, then landscape, with its layers of history and design, might be considered inherently narrative.
“The power to read, tell, and design landscapes could be one of the greatest human talents,” Spirn writes. This talent has arguably allowed humans to inhabit diverse environments, from savannas to tundras. Every landscape project can be seen as telling a story—whether through ecological restoration, urban renewal, or public space design. Landscape architects are often tasked with communicating these narratives effectively, engaging the public and stakeholders in their vision.
Beyond individual projects, landscape architects frequently contribute to redefining their profession through new narratives. The definition of landscape has expanded over time beyond gardens and parks to include urban planning, ecology, risk management, and public engagement. This evolving discourse continues to shape the discipline, pushing its boundaries and redefining its role in society.
The Evolution of Landscape Narratives
Landscape architecture has long been influenced by changing narratives. Frederick Law Olmsted, often regarded as the father of landscape architecture, laid the foundation for the profession. In 1969, Ian McHarg’s Design with Nature introduced ecological planning at a time when no legislation required it. His work is often credited with helping to spark the environmental movement of the 1970s.
By the late 1990s, Landscape Urbanism brought greater attention to urbanism and investment in public spaces, exemplified by projects like the High Line. More recently, climate change, resilience, and disaster management have become increasingly central concerns. Landscape architects now often engage with risk as a metanarrative, addressing environmental challenges at a global scale. While the future of the discipline remains uncertain, one thing seems clear: landscape architects will likely continue to develop new narratives that shape our world.
The Double-Edged Nature of Narrative
While narratives can often unite people and provide a shared vision, they can also sometimes be exclusionary or misleading. Some narratives may privilege certain perspectives while marginalizing others. For example, Banister Fletcher’s The Tree of Architecture presents a Eurocentric view of architectural history, placing Western European styles at the pinnacle while sidelining other traditions.
Similarly, in Black Landscapes Matter, scholars highlight how American landscapes often reflect colonial legacies and racial inequalities. Exclusive narratives can risk erasing diverse cultural histories and reinforcing systemic inequities. A more inclusive approach to landscape narratives might involve acknowledging multiple perspectives and historical truths, ensuring that all communities can potentially see themselves reflected in the built environment.
The Responsibility of Landscape Architects
Building narratives requires an awareness of the tools and data we use. In an era of climate crises—hurricanes, wildfires, rising sea levels—every disaster is often accompanied by competing narratives from news agencies, governments, and social media. As landscape architects, we should strive to critically examine these narratives: Who tells the story? Who collects the data? What biases might shape the interpretation of events?
Modern landscape practice often relies heavily on geographic information systems (GIS) and institutional data. While these tools offer valuable insights, they also carry inherent biases. If we uncritically accept the data presented to us, we risk creating narratives that are incomplete, misleading, or even harmful. A conscious approach to storytelling might involve questioning sources, recognizing biases, and incorporating diverse perspectives.
Telling a New Story of the World
Landscape architects are increasingly playing a role in shaping global narratives about human-environment relationships. Their work often synthesizes history, topography, hydrology, infrastructure, policy, and social factors to create meaningful representations of place. However, one of the greatest challenges remains making environmental issues tangible to the public.
Climate change, for example, is difficult to grasp because it is both a global phenomenon and a localized experience. While people feel daily weather changes, understanding climate shifts on a planetary scale often requires a broader perspective. Landscape architects, equipped with design and visualization skills, can potentially bridge this gap by crafting compelling narratives that make abstract environmental issues more accessible.
Consider the impact of the “Blue Marble” photograph taken in 1972. This image of Earth from space is often credited with profoundly changing how people perceived their relationship with the planet. Similarly, landscape architects might use drawings, diagrams, videos, exhibitions, and installations to tell new stories about climate, ecology, and human resilience.
By crafting narratives that engage the public, landscape architects can potentially shift perspectives, inspire action, and shape a more sustainable future. The stories we tell have the potential to redefine our relationship with the Earth and each other. Through design, storytelling, and critical awareness, landscape architects can contribute to building a new vision for the world—one that is inclusive, sustainable, and deeply connected to the landscapes we inhabit.
Published by Drake M.
