Publisher's Weekly Review

Fieldhouse and Harvey ( Reflections on the Landscape ), whose experience in the field of landscaping is largely British, observe ``little solid evidence of substantial contemporary design theory'' in ``current landscape practice.'' But maybe that's not all bad. For there's a great deal of variety in store for us here, decreed by diverse challenges as well as by the individual styles of designers. For instance, the Grand Mall Park in Japan's Yokahama City appears to be a peaceful focal point in an intensely busy urban spot, ingeniously incorporating a slender stream, crepuscular ``illuminated pavement'' and 96 speakers amplifying, to all and sundry, the natural reverberation of water and wind. And a square laid out at the University of Tromso in Norway, ``the most northerly university in the world,'' both exposes and protects, with an exposed labyrinth coiling lusciously around a hot spring. About 60 plans, illustrated with photographs and documented by text, cover projects launched in Europe, Asia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South America, Asia and the U.S., many of them juicy. Unfortunately, the color reproduction is occasionally flawed. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved