OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 



AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME 



83 



FELLOWSHIP IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE 

 PRELIMINARY COMPETITION, MARCH 25. 1915* 



This preliminary competition is not to ex- 

 tend over a longer period than fourteen con- 

 secutive hours. 



During the period of the competition no 

 competitor is to receive any advice or assist- 

 ance whatsoever from other persons. 



PROBLEM 



The problem consists of the design of a 

 Country Estate, on an imaginary area of 

 ground, shown on the accompanying topo- 

 graphical map. and supposed to be situated 

 somewhere in the eastern part of New York 

 State, and one hour and a quarter from New 

 York City. This estate is understood to be 

 one of a considerable number of contiguous 

 estates of similar extent and general character 

 which are being taken up by New York busi- 

 ness men and developed chiefly, as this is to 

 be, for year-round residence. 



Mr. L N. Cognito, the client in this case, 

 is a New York banker; and he, his wife, a 

 son of twenty-one at college, and two daugh- 

 ters aged eighteen and sixteen constitute the 

 family. 



The estate is part of an old farm, of which 

 the marketable timber in the woodland was all 

 cut off forty or fifty years ago except for a 

 few old trees shown on the topographical map. 

 These and the smaller trees that have de- 

 veloped since are in good condition unless 

 otherwise indicated. The soil is a light sandy 

 loam said to run about a foot in depth except 

 near the rock outcrops shown. The subsoil is 

 sandy gravel, well drained, except for the 



swamp, which contains two feet or more of 

 peaty soil. 



The adjoining area, separating Mr. C's prop- 

 erty from the lake referred to in the note on 

 the topographical map is a reservation and 

 will not be built on. but will be kept open, so 

 that views of the lake from the property can 

 be counted on in the future. 



Mr. C. has paid $6,000 for the land and says 

 he will pay up to $100,000 for buildings, 

 which are to include house, stable, garage, and 

 greenhouse, and such minor structures as the 

 working out of the problem may lead to; and 

 up to $50,000 on the grounds. He expects to 

 employ a head-gardener (in charge of place), 

 an assistant in the greenhouse, an outdoor 

 boss (under head-gardener), and four other 

 men on the average through the year, ex- 

 clusive of all help employed in house, stable, 

 and garage. 



It is understood that Mr. C. desires a house of 

 brick or else of wood-frame with wire lath and 

 "plaster. "and will not accept any other material; 

 also that, in either case, he desires the house 

 to be "simple and unpretentious in character." 

 The competitor, as the landscape architect, is 

 expected to make the choice between these 

 two materials, and also to suggest the style 

 and general architectural effect which seem to 

 him most fitting for the buildings. 



It is stipulated that the stable is to have 

 stalls for at least four horses, that the garage 

 is to be large enough for two automobiles, 

 and that the greenhouse is to supply cut- 

 flowers through the winter. 



♦Extract from Special Regulations Governing Fellowships in Landscape Architecture: 



Sec. 1. Candidates are required to be (1) graduates of technical courses in Landscape .'\rchi- 

 tecture in any one of the following institutions: Harvard University. Cornell University. Universi- 

 ty of Illinois. University of Michigan. Massachusetts .Agricultural College; or (2) graduates of a 

 college or university in high standing, who hold certificates of at least two years' study in such 

 a technical course; or (3) men who are not graduates of either such a technical course or of any 

 college or university in good standing, but who have had three or more years' professional experi- 

 ence in either independent practice or in the employ of a competent landscape architect or firm of 

 landscape architects, and are officially recommended by the .'\merican Society of Landscape .Archi- 

 tects and approved by the Executive Committee of the .Academy. 



Sec. 2. Competitors are required to make a sketch for a work of landscape architecture, with- 

 in a period of fourteen consecutive hours, upon a program uniform for all. The cornpetitor may 

 elect his own manner of presentation. He must accompany his drawings with a brief, but ade- 

 quate and clear statement of the principal reasons behind his scheme. He is to preserve sufficient 

 record of his recommendations for his own possible subsequent use. 



