The courtyard is kind of space where different kinds of human activities are possible. And any type of landscaping design is always in some ways related to human activity high or low.
Basically courtyards can be categorized into two major type.
1) A space, which is cover by other independent buildings and has a common access through the courtyard. One of the most commonly seen examples is a college building or a university campus
2) A space, which is within a single building, and various spaces can be access trough the courtyard. One of the most commonly seen examples for this type is a home design with courtyard in the center or a hospital building.
For both these types the criteria for designing landscape is quite different because the difference in the nature of human activities. There are many more factors that govern the courtyard landscaping designs. Some of them are
1) Size or volume of the courtyard (measured in length, width and height)
2) Whether it is open to sky or not
3) The amount of sunlight it receives
4) Does it have any cross ventilation
In a university campus courtyard it is necessary to provide ample spaces for students for casual seating as well as provide area to commute from one building to another. In such case walkways that will consciously direct the visitors to different department buildings is a good design solution.
In case of a courtyard, which closed from all sides, like in a residential building, it is necessary to provide good thinking for the selection of plant species before starting out. In such cases the amount of sunlight entering the courtyard will be limited. Also good arrangement of landscaping drainage is a must because of lack of sunlight.
However if the activities in a courtyard are centered toward the courtyard interiors the periphery of the courtyard must be used as a landscaping ground. For example because of the scarcity of space it is possible that the courtyard is being used a s a dining are, then the entire human activity gets towards the center of the courtyard. In such situations soft landscaping borders such as flowerbeds can be used with occasional breaks to other rooms on the periphery.
Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya
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