Roads, Paths, Steps and

Hardscaping
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Roads and paths

 Element of landscape composition

 Form a part of a humanized or of a naturalistic
composition
 In formal and man-made informal landscape design,
they are made to be seen and to take their part as
important elements in the composition
 In a natural or naturalistic landscape,
they are usually a necessity to be tolerated, not a
beauty to be displayed.
Roads in naturalistic landscape
 The road should seem to lie upon the surface of the ground
without interruption of the natural modeling.
 sequential and unbroken a continuation of the natural surface
 necessary cuts and fills should simulate the natural surface where
needed
 road to be inconspicuous-
 its surface should be as little noticeable in color
 its edges should not present a clean, hard, and definite line.
 use of a road material like gravel or broken stone esthetically
preferable to that of brick or cement.
 better arrangement is to throw the water off the surface of the
road on to the adjoining grass surface, carrying the water away
from the road
 constructing a broad, shallow turf gutter, its outer side joining
the natural ground surface by insensible and varied modulations,
its inner side joining smoothly to the curve of the crown of the
road.
Forms of roads
 The maximum gradient of the road will be determined by the
character of the traffic and the character of the road surface
 Its location upon the topography will be determined by :
 the directness and cheapness with which the road can be run
to the point it seeks without exceeding the maximum
gradient and without turns too sharp to be readily followed
by the traffic.
 Road should seem to fit the topography with the least
possible disturbance and should seem to go as directly as may
be from one point of interest to another.
 If it vary from directness, it should be only for a sufficient
obstacle, hill or valley, or outcropping ledge or foliage mass.
 sequence of curve, smoothness of flow of one curve into
another, is certainly desirable for adaptation to the passage of
traffic.
 When road turns about an obstacle, it should not of course
turn so sharply as to discommode the traffic
 When having a sharp turn, it should set off directly for its next
necessary point of turning and should not lie upon the
landscape in a series of broad and unnecessary loops.
Road intersections
 Where a road comes into or intersects another, the first
consideration is the smooth flow of traffic in plan and in profile
from each road into the other.
 Gradient, possible radius of turning of an automobile, and view
from one road to another to prevent accidents; also to be
considered.
 If the curved continuation of the side-line of one road into that of
another undesirably increases the road surface at the junction,
then it may perhaps be well to lead the roads into each other by
still more gentle curves and so to produce
 islands between the branches of the roads, which may be covered
with low planting to conceal any undue amount of road surface.
 Where two roads bearing very different kinds of traffic must cross
each other — one road may be bridged over the other.
 The importance and the topography determines which shall be the
higher and lower roads.