Circles in Mid-Century Modern Landscape Design
MCM Landscape Design Series, Part 2
As I continue researching mid century modern landscape design, I've found that some design motifs were extremely popular during this time period. Circles are one of these forms, along with zigzags, grids, and sweeping curves. Now, obviously, circle motifs have been around for a very long time (millennia?). But you don't see circles used in the same ways or at nearly the same rate in contemporary landscapes or in earlier eras. Why is this?
At first I thought this was because concrete was new in the landscape and designers went wild about being able to finally create curved and squiggly forms. Curved cuts on stone are possible but difficult and expensive. However, in the course of my research I learned that concrete has been around since Roman times! Portland cement (a major component of modern concrete) wasn't invented until 1824 and wasn't sold commercially until 1845. Reinforced concrete was developed in the late 1800s and was first used mostly as an industrial and utilitarian building material. Architects and builders continued to experiment with concrete, but two wars and the Great Depression put a damper on building. In addition, the Arts and Crafts movement popular through the 1920s focused on the importance of craftsmanship and craft tradition in building and the arts. It wasn't until the postwar building boom and rise of modernism that concrete's full potential began to be utilized. So I wasn't necessarily wrong, it was just a more gradual process than I had realized.
Concrete wasn't originally seen as modern due to its ancient roots and its similarity to mud or stone construction. However, it came to be seen as the "thinking man's building material" because "mixtures and ratios... required experimentation and theorizing by engineers who took out patents on their ideas." In a time period thoroughly obsessed with 'better living through science', it became modern through its association with the scientific method and mind.
I thought the following quote about skilled labor and concrete was really interesting. As someone who has frequently bemoaned the separation between designers and the laborers who install the designs, and the lack of craft knowledge among both, it's interesting to see that part of the modernization process was to create this separation as a way to wrest power from the independent craftspeople and centralize it in the hands of a few managers/technocrats. That separation was then enforced by the creation of building and zoning codes that required a license and a stamp for plan approval. (For more on this, see James C Scott's excellent book Seeing Like a State.)
"The success of concrete as a building material early in the century stemmed in large part from the argument by builders, engineers, and architects that concrete was cheaper than timber and stone. This was true only because the majority of labor required in creating concrete structures demanded less skill and training than stone masonry. Concrete construction demanded a shift in thinking, a shift that had profound consequences in the construction industry at large. At the turn of the century those few architects, engineers, and contractors who insisted on the application of steel-reinforced concrete strove to bring science into a practice dominated by a craft tradition. In their view the demands of concrete construction meant that technical innovation would prevail over what was perceived as the monopoly of an artisan class. Unlike stone construction, a monumental material that concrete ultimately came to supplant in many respects, concrete requires a small group of highly skilled technicians to ensure a proper and safe construction process. This stratification of labor between the skilled engineers and foremen,and the unskilled and in some cases untrained laborers, proved to be an important and distinctive aspect of the modernization of the building industry as a whole and became typical of virtually every modernizing industry." - CONCRETE
It's interesting that while I love midcentury aesthetics, there's a lot I don't love about modernism as a philosophy. In fact, I find myself much more drawn to the small craft workshops and techniques idealized in the Arts and Crafts era. But let's not get too deep into the philosophical mud here... I know you came for pictures!
MCM Large Circular Concrete Patios
Large circular patios were common in the mid century era and have never been as popular since. They were created by bending wood into circular forms and pouring the slabs in place. These pads look amazing but there's just one catch: if the slab is large enough and the ground freezes in your area, the concrete WILL crack, even if you reinforce it with metal mesh or rebar. Designing with concrete in colder climates means designing to control and direct cracking. You've seen score lines on almost every sidewalk you’ve ever walked on. These indentations are created so that cracks will follow the thinnest part of the concrete and will be hidden at the bottom of the score line. Expansion joints, which are filled with a flexible material, are also used to control cracking and provide flexibility. Below we'll see examples of how these were included in mid century designs.
Left/top: A medley of different-sized pads leads from the doors to the large patio in the front. It’s a really fun effect. The large pad has several wooden spacers that were inserted into the form before the concrete was poured. This acts as a sort of expansion joint. Eventually the wood will rot and will leave a gap in the pad that could be filled with sand or stone dust. This design features a really nice curved bench wrapping around the outside of the pad. Is that an ashtray on the pad along with the pillow?!
Right/bottom: These are some epic concrete pads! I see no evidence of scoring, which tells me that they're in a much warmer and milder climate than I am. Take a closer look at the translucent fence, which we saw in a previous post on fence types. I love how the marigolds(?) echo the color of the orange and yellow cushions.
Left/top: This patio is indoors and protected by the building envelope, which means it doesn't need scoring, although the wooden frames wisely continue around both circles, providing an expansion joint at the narrowest point that's also a fun decorative detail. Note the imperfection in the wooden form near the bottom of the photo. This patio wasn’t perfectly round, and yours doesn’t have to be either. I love the unexpected pink touches. This photo is copyright © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)
Right/bottom: There are faint score lines running across this patio parallel to the bottom of the photo. I’m a little surprised they didn’t cut score lines in the opposing direction as well; long narrow concrete strips are more prone to cracking than panels closer to square. Again, it may be located in a much milder climate.
While the caption calls these giant stepping stones, one could argue that they're actually the size of small patios. The pool area in the back is also circular
Left upper (top on mobile): These patios are made from tiling many smaller circular pavers. This patio has cutouts that fit between the circular pavers to fill in the gaps. I haven't seen anything like this today. The groundcover planted between the stones is a good idea, but it is also obscuring the circular pattern and looks a little awkward.
Left lower and right (middle and bottom on mobile): These circular paver patios have dealt with the awkward gaps between circles by infilling them with stones and stone chips. Stone dust or decomposed granite could be used as well. What is going on with the background of the lower left image? Is that a mirror?!
Two oval concrete patios don't quite touch, creating a narrow pathway of grass between them. This patio has a small grid framed out with wood- a very safe option to prevent cracking!
Left/top: This circular patio has a bite taken out of it by a circular planting bed! I'm guessing this patio is concrete by the water-stained area on the lower right, but you could easily do a circular patio from gravel or stone dust (or DG out west) so long as you installed edging to keep the material in place. Concrete and gravel are two of the most affordable hardscaping materials and both can easily be formed to irregular shapes but they're very different in how they behave.
Right/bottom: This house plan uses circles all over. There are two interior courtyards with circular pads of varying sizes, a large outdoor circular patio labeled "adult", and a pool made from two circular shapes (more on pools in a bit). The front of the house uses a breeze block screen to create private front utility courtyards for the workshop and children's play area.
MCM Circular (and Oval) Planting Beds
In design, we sometimes use a technique called figure-ground sketches, or working with negative space and positive space. Basically, if we turn everything in the design into black or white, what is the object (black) and what are the spaces in between (white?) How do they connect/relate? In the previous examples, the patios were black (objects) in a sea of white space. But what if the space we're interested in is actually defined by the holes cut out from it? Mid-century designers played with this a lot. Instead of having a patio that was itself a defined shape (a square, or a circle, for example), they might start the design process with a huge grid of pavement and then cut shapes away from it, leaving the patio and paths as the amorphous spaces in between. Once you start 'thinking outside the box', there's a lot of possibility in design!
This is a great example of a patio and walkways created by "cutting out" circular planting beds from a unifying grid of pavement. There is no separation of materials between patio and pathway- they flow right into each other. The size of the spaces is determined by how close together the planting beds are to each other and how big the beds are. This design features fairly wide pathways connecting spaces. A note: I love that space age light on the lower left! Can we have those today, pretty please?! The fence is a fairly normal vertical solid board fence with a frame.
I love this. So simple, and so effective. The house is laid out in an L shape, with the front door to the top right of the photo. A giant circular planting bed separates the driveway from the front walk, again without any change in material. The parking area is defined with curb stops, and the space between the planting bed and the house is too narrow for cars, which defines the area for pedestrian use. I'm guessing there's a garage to the lower right where the driveway continues toward the house. I'm also wondering whether the circle was created to preserve the existing tree, given its size and the age of the house. You have to be careful with this. Most tree roots are within the top 18" of soil (even for giant trees like this!), and they don't like to have soil added on top of their roots (or removed) once they're established. If that driveway is a hard surface like concrete or asphalt, it's also limiting the amount of space the tree can use to 'breathe' and absorb water. The tree is located delightfully off-center in the circle, and it looks like the grade was raised considerably higher on the house side, which is at least further from the trunk, so that's good. It's a tough situation and I wouldn't be surprised if the tree had slowly declined. Today I would recommend permeable paving.
Another wonderful driveway/front walk hybrid. This one is probably exposed aggregate concrete. I'm a little unsure which are driving paths and which are walking paths, or maybe they're all wide enough for a car. That might be a garage off to the right, but I can't quite tell. It's important to clearly define your paths by width if they're all made of the same material and at the same elevation! You don't want someone to start driving up a front walk that narrows gradually to pedestrian width, and then have to back up! One thing I really love about this design is that the planting islands (more oblong than circular) are mounded above the pavement. The crooked conifers look like giant bonsai. You could run with this and take inspiration from Japanese gardens, urban ruins, or natural outcroppings. In the northeast, this would be a great way to keep staghorn sumac contained, and it's tough enough to take it.
Left/top: Circles or ovals cut out from concrete again create negative space. This time the circles are quite large, leaving only a thin band of concrete to act as a narrow walkway around the tree and between the tree bed and the sandbox. Near the house, the absence of cutouts creates a larger paved area.
Right/bottom: In some cases the designer (or at least the author of the book) was quite explicit about their intentions. I love the idea of "carving out" a piece of pavement and "transplanting" it to another part of the yard!
One person's boring is another person's zen. Another oval cut out from a gridded concrete patio, filled with simple turfgrass to set off a distant view of the hills.
We saw this patio before in the section on large concrete patios. Notice how the patio itself is oval, but there's (surprise!) also an off-center oval cut out from it, creating a narrow walkway on one edge and a large gathering area on the other. What would happen if there was a smaller patio inside the planting bed? And a smaller planting bed inside that? And... you get the picture.
This technique can work at many different scales. Left/top: A sketch of a public park where seating and lawn areas are envisioned as circles and ovals 'cut out' from a matrix of pathway material.
Right/bottom: This time the patio is made of flagstone, not concrete. A hole cut out of the larger part of the patio serves as an accent bed and to break up what would be a large area of pavement.
MCM Circular Stepping Stones
Stepping stones were one of the most common ways circles appeared in the landscape, as pre-formed concrete rounds were readily available to homeowners in multiple sizes. People could also easily make their own steppers with a bag of concrete and a variety of circular objects to use as forms.
Left/top: Circular stepping stones can all be one size . In this example they're set into a long narrow bed to form a straight walkway. This is a bit unusual. Usually designers created winding or undulating walkways to complement the curves of the stones.
Right/bottom: This walkway is created from circles of multiple sizes and is REALLY wide. I almost wonder if it's a driveway, which would be interesting, as I haven't seen one like this before. Unfortunately the photo has no caption or context and seems to have been inserted on top of the page of the book it was scanned in. Anyone have an idea of the location? It's probably southwestern with those palm trees and mountains.
Left/top: Large circular stepping stones with an exposed aggregate finish meander through a planting bed with groundcover and succulents.
Right/bottom: This example is really interesting. It would have been really easy for the front yard to be entirely lawn, but the designer created two distinct spaces by adding a planting bed with a low groundcover and trees. The stepping stones sort of “bridge” the bed and you get the feeling of crossing a threshold into a semi-private space before you step up to the front door.
These two photos are of the Milton Goldman House, deigned by Richard Neutra. The left (top) photo from the Neutra Institute is the original design. Note that the edges of the concrete steppers had become worn and irregular over time. These steppers come closer than ever to being lilypads as they 'float' over this decorative pool. The right (bottom) photo shows the same area after a redesign, probably after the original steppers had begun to fail. I like the new design, perhaps even more than the old one, but I hope the plants have grown in since this photo was taken.
Left/top: The Milton Goldman house again, with more concrete steppers (large ones) and another water feature. I'm a little confused about what's going on where the water meets the steppers. It looks like the grade just slopes down? Maybe there's a pond liner underneath? In this photo it ends up looking like an unintentional puddle, very different from the other pool. This image © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)
Right/bottom: The color scheme on this design is a bit off-putting, if period. They loved their browns in the latter half of the mid century! I like a good brown but the combination of too many warm browns with cool concrete is a bit too much for me. I would change the gravel color and repaint the wood trim to start. Take a look at that breeze block screen!
Left/top: A grid of exposed aggregate concrete breaks up into a pathway made from circular stepping stones with a creeping groundcover between them.
Right/bottom: Circles could be used indoors as well! These "steppers" in a New Jersey mall were set flush with the rest of the paving.
MCM Steps with Circular Treads
The obsession with circles didn't end with patios, planting beds, and stepping stones. If you have a circular stepping stone path and a slope, what's the logical next move? Why... steps with circular treads of course!
Pre-formed round concrete pavers are usually only about 1.5" to 2" thick, meaning that they'll only work as steps on a very gradual slope. These can be a little annoying to walk on. It's generally not recommended to have steps under 4.5", although residential code doesn't actually specify a minimum. It should be fine from a safety perspective so long as it's a run of steps, not just a low single step (those are tripping hazards). Not to get too technical here, but there's a recommended ratio between how tall a step is and how deep the walking surface is. As the steps get taller (riser height increases), the walking surface (tread) depth gets smaller. If you vary too much from the recommended ratio, things get uncomfortable. You'll need to choose the correct diameter of circle and overlap amount to create the proper tread depth for your riser height. Keep all steps overlapped the same amount, even if you offset them jauntily like in the left (top) photo. Otherwise, you're asking for accidents.
Left/top: One way to deal with this problem is to simply use thicker concrete circles (or cylinders) that are the height of normal treads, usually between 6 and 7.5". I've never seen these sold anywhere, but you can make your own.
Right/bottom: Another way to address this issue is to elevate the treads on a recessed base, causing them to look like they're 'floating'. They're not really floating; the shadows underneath the steps just hide the base from view. These steps aren't elevated much- maybe an inch? The steps are still pretty low but it suits this meandering walk well. Treads can have an exposed aggregate texture, which provides excellent traction in wet or icy weather.
These treads are elevated slightly more, perhaps 2" with a 2" thick slab? We're still talking about some seriously low steps here; you can see how wide the treads are to compensate! I probably wouldn't elevate these treads any more without also increasing the slab thickness because you'd start to see the supports underneath. It would be interesting to sketch out different tread thicknesses and amount of "float" to see the different kinds of effects you could get.
Circular MCM Fountains, Pools, and Ponds
We already cut holes in pavement with circular planting beds; now we're literally cutting circular holes in the ground to create fountains, pools, and ponds, or in some cases creating circular islands inside of ponds.
Left/top: Another example of a planting bed (lawn this time) cut out from a rectangular matrix of paving, which looks like natural stone. This time, an oval-shaped pool has also been cut out from the paving and the walkway is the space between and around the two forms. A curved retaining wall complements the other curves.
Right/bottom: The Milton Goldman house again. A low bridge cuts across a cascading series of circular pools and leads into a zig-zag walkway.
A circular kiddie pool with a concrete walkway around it and circular stepping stones leading to the pool. These steppers are set a little high above grade and remind me of an issue I see with some DIY projects. Sometimes people sprinkle a few small steppers on top of an existing patio or lawn without bringing the grade up to the top of the stones and without setting them properly. Every time I see a design like this I'm like, do you WANT me to twist my ankle?
Left/top: The circles can also be a "cutout" from a pond, as in this image. The pond has a very clean, concrete edge- great for tidy aesthetics but not so good for wildlife or plant habitat. The bridge out to the island is a fun feature.
Right/bottom: The circular fountain can project above ground, as in this image at a mall. I love these decorative fountain nozzles!
Above: Sometimes there's not enough space for a full circle and what's left is sort of a 'Pac-Man' shaped pool (although Pac-Man would not be created for several more decades!)
We've been seeing a lot of concrete in this post, because it's easiest to make circles from concrete, but other materials were used as well, including two colors of cobblestone in this plaza in Stockholm. Note that concrete was used for the large above-grade circular fountains.
Circular MCM Planters
Circular forms also made it into the landscape in planters large and small.
Left/top: Huge circular planters in a park. Also note the paving grid, zigzag benches, and bold curves- all hallmarks of midcentury design!
Right/bottom: Circular concrete planters in various sizes dot this urban streetscape. The paving pattern looks really interesting here but it's hard to see.
Left: Circular concrete planters are planted with a vine that is growing up a concrete parking garage.
Lower right: a trio of round concrete planters sits in a bed of rounded stone between a patio and lawn.
Circular MCM Play Structures
Circular forms also made it into the landscape in play structures, although these weren't featured as often in design books.
Left/top: A circular sandbox surrounded by a deck adjacent to the beach. One wonders why the need for a sandbox at the beach, but I suppose they must have had reasons? This sandbox also has had a 'bite' taken out of it.
Right/bottom: The concrete pipe- a playground classic- originated in the mid-century era.
Other Circles
Left/top: A plaza in Cambridge. A circular arrangement of concrete bike racks is located at the center of each intersecting brick circle.
Right/bottom: I haven't found many examples of fire pits in the midcentury era. This one was captioned as a 'barbeque'. Note the exposed aggregate concrete, the vertical (brick?) firepit surround, the vertical (concrete block?) wall, and the curved slatted bench. The curved planter in the background is taking a 'bite' out of the circular patio.
Do you want a midcentury design for your house but aren't sure how to design it? I can help!
Just reach out to me at renee@sandboxlandstudio.com and we can discuss the specifics or set up a quick chat! You don't need to be located in the Washington, DC or Baltimore areas for me to create a custom detail or provide basic guidance about your property.