Water has long been an important landscape element in garden design. Many historic gardens contain a variety of water features that provide different characters and atmospheres. This article seeks to explore water as a landscape element in two major historic gardens, i.e. Mughal garden and Japanese garden, through document study along with on-site observation. All the fieldwork sites are considered pleasure gardens owned by the royal family and built at the same period of time. It is found out that in Mughal gardens, i.e. Shalimar Bagh and Achabal, Kashmir, settled in the mountainous terrain with slight slopes, the water character is the movement. The water body is rather small and built in geometric forms. It creates a sense of pleasure and joyfulness. Whereas in Japanese gardens, i.e. Katsura Imperial Villa and Sento Imperial Palace, Kyoto, settled in the flat terrain, the water character is static. The water body is quite large and built in organic forms. It creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquillity. Through the comparison of Mughal gardens and Japanese gardens, water can be employed in creating pleasure gardens in various ways due to its context. This observation of water in historic gardens can help to better understand the application and effectiveness of water in landscape design.

Authors:
Onumpai Samkhuntod, Kasetsart University, Thailand

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Onumpai Samkhuntod is an Associate Professor at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Kasetsart University, Thailand. Dr. Samkhuntod graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and a Master of Science in Leisure and Environments from Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands. Dr. Samkhuntod then attended Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand, gaining a Degree of Doctoral Programme in Buddhist Studies with her dissertation entitled Guidelines in Managing the Suitable Environment for Dhamma Practice. She is currently teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students. She is interested in landscape design for Buddhist places, historic gardens, cultural landscape, landscape for leisure and tourism, planting and contemporary landscape design.

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