Structures such as gates, fences, free standing walls, retaining walls, and pergolas serve many functional uses, but what often goes unnoticed is that these structures perform a critical aesthetic role. When properly designed and placed, these landscape features help our minds organize the space, putting us at ease, which then enables us to enjoy the other things: a bubbling water feature, striking gardens, the scent of blooming Lilac. In addition to helping us “read” the space we are encountering, structures can artfully create or highlight an existing focal point and gracefully direct us to interesting points throughout the space. Likewise, the horizontal line created from the outline of a fence or wall can be used to draw our eye away from uninteresting or unappealing elements. A curving path that disappears behind a screen of shrubbery or a wall is a classic way to create a sense of adventure, curiosity, and surprise.
Designers and landscape architects use some of these fundamentals all the time when drafting outdoor space. If you are grappling with the need or desire for a fence, gate, wall, pergola, or some sort of other structure, explore the places that you feel have gotten it right. As you consider these issues, you will begin to recognize that the design and layout of these structures is just as critical as the materials and craft used to build them.