Lawrence Halprin: Choreographing urban experience

This dissertation on landscape architect Lawrence Halprin is focused on the years of Lawrence Halprin & Associates (1960–1976) and the multi-disciplinary firm\u27s interventions in the then rapidly shifting urban environment. It is structured in three parts all based on Halprin\u27s choreographic techniques to provide enriched environmental experience. Part I is a predominantly biographical section to demonstrate the development of his approach to choreographic scoring in the environment. Part II is an analysis of Halprin\u27s (and the firm\u27s) application of scores to produce form and guide reception to form; and Part III dissects his application of scores to structure process, specifically his community workshop process, or Taking Part. Parts II and III begin with a descriptive presentation of his dominant theories, which are then critically interpreted through a series of case studies. Research was conducted primarily through an examination of materials in the extensive Halprin Collection housed in the University of Pennsylvania\u27s Architectural Archives. Tying the complexity of his theories and designs together in this comprehensive analysis is an examination of his foundational interests in the careful orchestration of the body through the environment. His wife Anna Halprin, the dancer and choreographer, vastly influenced his approach to shaping urban experience, introducing possibilities for bodily participation and heightened sensory awareness. Yet the major criticism of his scoring approach is his inability to resolve his degree of authority or control over the work. While he sought an open “score” reflective of contemporaneous experiments in performance (Happenings, the musical compositions of John Cage, etc.), Halprin clearly remained the maestro