Dan Kileys landscapes

Mark Jenkins

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From his longtime home studio in Vermont, Dan Kiley could see low-slung mountains, rippling Lake Champlain and trees grouped thickly and randomly. But when the influential landscape architect went to work, he emulated not such natural vistas but the geometric layouts of both baroque and modernist France.

The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley, at the National Building Museum through May 18, celebrates the centenary of the designers 1912 birth; it also marks a decade since his 2004 death. The photographs in the exhibition showcase Kiley landscapes that abide, as well as ones that have been neglected or may be threatened.

The Boston-born Kiley served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and his assignments included designing the courtroom for the Nuremberg Trials. The most significant aspect of his time in Europe, however, was his exposure to the work of Andr le Ntre, who designed the Gardens of Versailles for Louis XIV.

Le Ntres formal style was a defining influence on Kiley and made the American a natural collaborator for architects who exemplified the rationalist, streamlined International Style. In his more than 900 designs, Kiley rarely arrayed water, grass and trees without using some sort of grid.

Dan Kiley at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Courtesy Aaron Kiley/Courtesy Aaron Kiley)

1. A methodical approach

Dan Kiley, in an undated photograph, stands at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Behind him is a methodical arrangement of square pools, the centerpiece of his design to both celebrate and contrast the schools flat, dry environment.

Banneker Park. Landscape design by Dan Kiley. (Frank Hallam Day; Courtesy The Cultural Landscape Foundation/Frank Hallam Day; Courtesy The Cultural Landscape Foundation)

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Dan Kileys landscapes