Robert Royston
Encyclopedia
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
of California in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
work and university teaching
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in the years following World War II helped define and establish the California modernism style in the post-war period. During his sixty years of professional practice Royston completed an array of award-winning projects that ranged from residential gardens to regional land use plans. He is perhaps best known for his important innovations in park design. A recent book, Modern Public Gardens: Robert Royston and the Suburban Park, details this area of his professional creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Early life
Royston was born in San Francisco, California. He grew up on a farm in the Santa Clara ValleySanta Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration...
of Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
. As a high school student he demonstrated a talent for drawing, dramatic performance, and athletics. One teacher advised him to be either an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
or a ballet dancer. He pursued instead his interest in design and the outdoors and upon graduation in 1936 enrolled in the program for “Landscape Design” in the College of Agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Royston’s mentor, H. Leland Vaughan, allowed him to experiment on his own with the new design perspectives emerging in the innovative work of Thomas Church
Thomas Dolliver Church
Thomas Dolliver Church , called "Dolliver" by his family and "Tommy" by his friends, was a landscape architect.- Life :...
and the more avant-garde explorations of Daniel Kiley, Garrett Eckbo
Garrett Eckbo
Garrett Eckbo was an American landscape architect notable for his seminal 1950 book Landscape for Living.-Youth:...
, and James Rose. Royston’s interest in painting, which he continued to pursue in order to explore aesthetic principles applicable to his design work, can be traced to the studio art classes that were a part of his early education.
While working his way through college, Royston was employed part-time in the office of Thomas Church
Thomas Dolliver Church
Thomas Dolliver Church , called "Dolliver" by his family and "Tommy" by his friends, was a landscape architect.- Life :...
and upon graduation in 1940 became a full-time employee. At the time Church was expanding his practice, which had been centered primarily on residential gardens, to include the design of larger-scale planned residential communities and college campuses. Young Royston was given major responsibilities on such San Francisco projects as the Valencia Gardens Housing Project in the Mission District (by architect William Wurster
William Wurster
William Wilson Wurster was an American architect and architectural teacher at the University of California, Berkeley and at MIT, best known for his residential designs in California. - Biography :...
), the Potrero Hill Housing project, and the large Park Merced Apartment complex near the Pacific Ocean. He also was an early member of 'Telesis', an informal group of designers concerned with environmental problems of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Here he met several of the architects he was later to collaborate with on various projects as well as his future professional partner, Garrett Eckbo
Garrett Eckbo
Garrett Eckbo was an American landscape architect notable for his seminal 1950 book Landscape for Living.-Youth:...
.
With the outbreak of World War II, Royston volunteered for the Navy and served as a junior officer in the Pacific theatre. In his spare time aboard ship, Royston experimented with design ideas, building models of residential gardens and creating jewelry out of scrap materials. In 1945 Royston returned to the Bay Area and accepted Garrett Eckbo’s invitation to form a partnership with him and landscape architect Edward Williams. The new firm, Eckbo, Royston, and Williams, eventually established offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In 1947 Royston accepted a teaching position at the University of California Berkeley while continuing his professional practice. His students included both architects and landscape architects. His teaching career at Berkeley ended in 1951 when he resigned after refusing to sign a loyalty oath. Soon after leaving Berkeley, he accepted a part-time position at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and later at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
. Over the course of his career he taught and lectured at over twenty-five colleges and universities in the United States.
Career
Royston’s early professional work was concentrated in Northern CaliforniaNorthern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and at first consisted mostly of residential site planning and garden design. This was a period of astronomical growth fueled by the post-War economic boom and an acute shortage of housing. Most of this growth occurred as low- density suburban development, where Royston did much of his work. His practice soon expanded to include parks, plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
s, and planned residential communities. Royston collaborated on numerous residential projects with many notable San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
architects. His site plans emphasized the integration of indoor and outdoor space and elegant, functional garden rooms for outdoor living. Royston’s specific design vocabulary of layered, non-axial spaces and bold asymmetrical arcs and polygons suggests such influences as analytical cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, biomorphism, and the rectilinear geometry of Mondrian
Mondrian
Mondrian may refer to:* Piet Mondrian , artist* The Mondrian, a tower in the Cityplace neighborhood of Oak Lawn, Dallas, Texas, named for the artist* Mondrian Hotel, a 1959 hotel in Los Angeles...
’s paintings. The approach to architectural space of Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
are also clearly visible. Royston regards space as the primary medium of design and insists on the absolute necessity of integrating design form with human use. For example, in a typical Royston park design, a wading pool for young children may be laid out as a visually engaging biomorphic form but at the same time is scaled to the distance a parent’s voice can reach. The depth of the pool would also reflect function over pure form in that it would be shallowest in the middle where the child is farthest from parental aid. In Royston’s design vocabulary there is no art for art’s sake. Design form is always directly related to use and the psychological effect of space on its participants.
For Royston, landscape architecture “Practices the fine art of relating the structure of culture to the nature of landscape, to the end that people can use it, enjoy it, and preserve it.”
In dealing with more complex projects such as planned residential communities, Royston developed early in his practice his concept of the “landscape matrix,” which he defines as “the linking of open space as a continuous system throughout the community establishing a strong framework whereby communities are controlled and given form.” An early application of the 'landscape matrix' was the plan for a 258 acres (1 km²) cooperative housing project, 'Ladera' (1946), near Portola Valley, California
Portola Valley, California
Portola Valley is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 4,353 at the 2010 census. It was named for Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, who led the first party of Europeans to explore the San Francisco Peninsula, in 1769.Portola Valley is one of the...
. Royston’s design featured a linear park which tied together the residential clusters and separated automobile and pedestrian circulation. The plan was built, but not according to Royston’s specifications.
Park work
Among his more important works were Krusi Park in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, Pixie Place in Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, Bowden and Mitchell parks in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
(1956), and, later, Santa Clara’s
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
Central Park (1960). Royston rejected the notion of parks as primarily outdoor gymnasiums catering to a narrow range of age groups. He envisioned parks as “public gardens” serving a wide range of users, including families, very young children, and the elderly. Many of his parks contain residential scale elements such as pergolas and enclosed patio-like areas that create a sense of familiarity and intimacy. Royston also designed urban plazas, such as San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth Square is a one-block park in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, that is bounded by Kearny Street on the east, Washington Street on the north, Clay Street on the south, and Walter Lum Place on the west....
and St. Mary’s Square city parks. (1952).
In 1958 Royston amicably left the firm of Eckbo, Royston, Williams, and formed a new professional office with Asa Hanamoto. The firm developed into Royston, Hanamoto, Alley and Abey (RHAA) which is still in existence today.
Awards
Robert Royston was the recipient of many professional awards, including Fellow of the American Society of Landscape ArchitectsAmerican Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...
, 1975, The American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
Medal in 1978, and in 1989 the American Society of Landscape Architects Medal
American Society of Landscape Architects Medal
The American Society of Landscape Architects Medal is awarded by the American Society of Landscape Architects conferred "whose lifetime achievements and contributions to the profession have had a unique and lasting impact on the welfare of the public and the environment."The award is not limited to...
, the highest award of that professional organization.
Designs
Royston designs that can be visited and are reasonably intact:- St. Mary’s Square, San Francisco
- Mitchell Park, Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
- Bowden Park, Palo Alto, California
- Central Park, Santa Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
- Cuesta Park, Mountain View, CaliforniaMountain View, California-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
- Santa Clara Civic Center, Santa Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
External links
- Postwar Portfolio - a web site that provides an overview of Robert Royston’s design work