Louis Benech has designed gardens across the world. (Photos by Eric Sander / Courtesy of Louis Benech)

STOCKBRIDGE -- For world-renowned landscape architect Louis Benech, designing a garden is more a science than an art.

"Gardening is said to be an art, but I think there is no way I am an artist," Benech said in a recent telephone interview from his Paris office. "Artists are more free." Designing a garden "is too technical to be an art."

Finding that balance between freedom and responsibility in garden design will be the topic of Benech's lecture at Monument Mountain High School on Saturday, Feb. 8. Benech will speak at the Berkshire Botanical Garden's winter lecture, which is expected to draw more than 400 guests.

A reception will follow, where Benech will sign copies of "Twelve French Gardens" a book by author Eric Jansen and photographer Eric Sander, which shows some of his work.

Benech is known for his work on more than 300 public and private gardens across the globe, including the historic Tuileries Gardens and the Elysee Palace Gardens, both in Paris, Pavlovsk's rose pavilion in St. Petersburg and the Gardens of the Archilleion in Corfu.

"I am very happy when the garden is gentle enough that somebody is not thinking that someone is working there," Benech said . "I am not into the vision of exotic-looking gardens."

Benech is currently working at the Palace of Versailles on a contemporary garden for the Water Grove Theatre.

In his speech, Benech will share the methods and attitudes to adopt when approaching a garden, whether it is located in France or abroad, historical or untouched by history, with a view to restoration or to pure creation.

"We are very, very lucky to have him and we are honored he has chosen to come and speak," said BBG Communications Manager Brian Cruey. "Louis brings a great mix of new and old. He is considered very fashion-forward in the world of gardening, but still traditional," he said.

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Louis Benech, Designer of the Tuileries Gardens, to give Berkshire Botanical Garden's winter lecture in Great Barrington

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05 February 2014| last updated at 12:37AM

KUALA LUMPUR: RESIDENTS of Taman Wahyu, Kepong are concerned about land-clearing activities taking place at a site next to their homes in Jalan Sibu.

They claimed that the development was being carried out on a landfill next to the Batu and Wahyu retention ponds.

Kepong Community Centre head Yee Poh Ping said residents feared that the site was not suitable for development, and were urging City Hall and the Housing and Local Government Ministry to look into the issue.

"The site where the land-clearing is taking place is a former sand-mining area that has become a landfill. There is bulk and construction waste piled up as high as seven metres. The residents want to know if an environmental study has been done on the land," said Yee.

He urged the authorities to ensure that all the building material and waste were cleared before any development on the site.

When contacted, a Mah Sing Group Bhd spokesman confirmed that the area has been slated for the Lakeville Residence project.

She also clarified that the area was not a landfill, as claimed by the residents, but rather, a brownfield.

"The project is not taking place on a sanitary landfill. The proposed development area sits on a construction landfill that can be easily rehabilitated for development," she said.

A brownfield is a piece of land previously used for industrial or commercial purposes. Such land has the potential to be developed once it is rehabilitated.

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Project is safe, assures developer

A land-bank bill that would change the way tens of thousands of parcels across the city could be redeveloped is drawing criticism from community groups, who argue the legislation doesn't do enough to include them.

"The community approval process is not clear at all," says Carl Redwood, chairman of the Hill District Consensus Group. "And without full community participation, the land-bank legislation can be a way to fast-track what developers want to do in spite of the community's wishes."

The bill's supporters say the legislation is a work in progress, and say they hope community groups will help craft a mechanism to give themselves influence over the disposition of land in their neighborhoods.

Consternation among some community groups came after Pittsburgh City Councilor Deb Gross introduced legislation Jan. 14 that would create a Pittsburgh land bank an entity separate from city council that would act as a central clearinghouse for blighted, vacant or tax-delinquent properties. Under state law, the land bank would be authorized to expedite the title-clearing process and deal with existing tax liabilities, allowing for more efficient reuse of distressed land.

Gross' legislation gives a seven-member board the authority to decide what happens to property in the land bank. Three of the board's members would be appointed by council; four would be appointed by the mayor.

The legislation currently specifies that the use of land "shall be consistent with the provisions of the City's Comprehensive Plan and any adopted neighborhood plans." Where such plans don't exist, "the Land Bank shall determine that proposed uses are consistent with the goals of the community by consulting with any community groups in the area [as well as] the Department of City Planning, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh."

Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of the Hill Community Development Corporation, says she's supportive of land banks in theory, but worries about how the land bank will operate in communities that don't have formalized community plans.

"The Hill District has a community plan, but formal codification of that is different," Milliones says, adding that the city has not systematically provided resources for community planning. "[The legislation] has to take into consideration neighborhoods with very large amounts of vacant land like the Hill District and Homewood and parts of the North Side."

Although the bill is at the top of Mayor Bill Peduto's legislative agenda, the community-inclusion process "was one of the things that was intentionally left a little bit vague so we could solicit feedback," says Matthew Barron, Peduto's policy manager. Letting the legislation develop after it is introduced is "not unique to this legislation," he says.

Nate Hanson, Gross' chief of staff, says Gross is open to amendments and will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thu., Feb. 20, at Pittsburgh City Council chambers, so that "[as] many people who want to speak [will] be able to speak."

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Property Control: Neighborhood groups wary of land-bank bill

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