Thomas Dolliver Church
Encyclopedia
Thomas Dolliver Church called "Dolliver" by his family and "Tommy" by his friends, was a landscape architect
.
and raised in Ojai and Berkeley, California.Oakland, California
. He received his B.A.
degree in from the College of Agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley
in 1923. http://cal.berkeley.edu He later received his master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design
. Church traveled to Italy and Spain for six months on a Sheldon Fellowship that he was awarded at Harvard. After returning from Europe he taught at Ohio State University
for a year before returning to the San Francisco Bay area.
He taught at UC Berkeley in 1929-1930 and went into private practice at Pasatiempo Estates in 1930.
He moved to San Francisco in 1932 and established his practice. Church opened his office at 402 Jackson Street in 1933 San Francisco and continued to practice out of the same office until his retirement in 1977.
In his book Gardens Are For People, Church outlines four principles for his design process. They are:
It should be pointed out that while he used the Modern idea of freedom of elements, such as form, line, and movement, Thomas never abandoned the solid design principles of the past. One of the things that made his designs both unique and influential was the seamless marriage of two opposite design principles. Another design element that Church often used was the idea of the outdoor living space or dividing the landscape into separate “rooms.”
The majority of Church’s work was residential, and he reportedly created over 2000 designs. His most noted residential work is the Donnell Gardens in Sonoma County, California
. He also worked on a number of larger projects. He oversaw the master planning of UC Berkeley
, UC Santa Cruz
, Harvey Mudd College
, Woodside Priory School
, and the Wascana Centre
in Regina, Saskatchewan
. He designed the grounds of the American Embassy in Havana, Cuba, the General Motors
Research Center in Detroit, the Des Moines Art Center
, the Hotel El Panama in Panama City
, and the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minnesota
, and Parkmerced
in San Francisco. Thomas Church had a long and distinguished career as a Landscape Architect.
The modern residential landscape in California, and possibly the whole of the US, as we know it was birthed from a small group of designers, of which he was the founding father.
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
.
Life
Church was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and raised in Ojai and Berkeley, California.Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. He received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in from 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...
in 1923. http://cal.berkeley.edu He later received his master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
. Church traveled to Italy and Spain for six months on a Sheldon Fellowship that he was awarded at Harvard. After returning from Europe he taught at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
for a year before returning to the San Francisco Bay area.
He taught at UC Berkeley in 1929-1930 and went into private practice at Pasatiempo Estates in 1930.
He moved to San Francisco in 1932 and established his practice. Church opened his office at 402 Jackson Street in 1933 San Francisco and continued to practice out of the same office until his retirement in 1977.
Work
At the time that Church started practicing, the neoclassic movement was still the design style of choice. Thomas’s education at UC-Berkeley and Harvard, along with his travels to Europe, instilled in him a sense of the classical form. However, Church is known as one who opened the door to the Modern movement in landscape architecture with what came to be known as the “California Style.”In his book Gardens Are For People, Church outlines four principles for his design process. They are:
- Unity, which is the consideration of the schemes as a whole, both house and garden;
- Function, which is the relation of the practical service areas to the needs of the household and the relation of the decorative areas to the desires and pleasures of those who use it
- Simplicity, upon which may rest both the economic and aesthetic success of the layout
- Scale, which gives us a pleasant relation of parts to one another.
It should be pointed out that while he used the Modern idea of freedom of elements, such as form, line, and movement, Thomas never abandoned the solid design principles of the past. One of the things that made his designs both unique and influential was the seamless marriage of two opposite design principles. Another design element that Church often used was the idea of the outdoor living space or dividing the landscape into separate “rooms.”
The majority of Church’s work was residential, and he reportedly created over 2000 designs. His most noted residential work is the Donnell Gardens in Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
. He also worked on a number of larger projects. He oversaw the master planning of UC 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...
, UC Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
, Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College is a private residential liberal arts college of science, engineering, and mathematics, located in Claremont, California. It is one of the institutions of the contiguous Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds....
, Woodside Priory School
Woodside Priory School
The Woodside Priory School, sometimes known as The Priory, is an independent, coeducational, Roman Catholic, college preparatory, day and boarding school in the Benedictine tradition located in Portola Valley, California in the United States...
, and the Wascana Centre
Wascana Centre
Wascana Centre is a 9.3 square kilometre park built around Wascana Lake in Regina, Saskatchewan. It brings together lands and buildings owned by the City of Regina, University of Regina, and Province of Saskatchewan, each of which is represented on the board of directors, and contains government,...
in Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
. He designed the grounds of the American Embassy in Havana, Cuba, the General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Research Center in Detroit, the Des Moines Art Center
Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is an art museum with an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, modern art and mixed media. It was established in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa.-Description:...
, the Hotel El Panama in Panama City
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, and the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, and Parkmerced
Park Merced, San Francisco, California
Parkmerced is the second-largest single-owner neighborhood of apartment blocks west of the Mississippi River after Park La Brea in Los Angeles. It was a planned neighborhood of high-rise apartment towers and low-rise garden apartments in southwestern San Francisco, California, for middle-income...
in San Francisco. Thomas Church had a long and distinguished career as a Landscape Architect.
The modern residential landscape in California, and possibly the whole of the US, as we know it was birthed from a small group of designers, of which he was the founding father.
External links
- http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/profiles/church.htm
- http://www.gardenserve.com/thomaschurch.htm
- http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2003/janfeb/features/church.html