**Abstract**

Buildings that are carefully designed using passive strategies for natural ventilation and day lighting reduces our dependency on electrical energy meanwhile ensuring thermal comfort inside the building. Similarly, carefully planned vegetation around the building helps in reducing the urban heat island effect and electricity consumption. Methodology adopted for presenting this study as book chapter, first by understanding the concept of landscape with respect to typologies and components. Secondly discussing the physical parameters in terms of temperature, precipitations and humidity of varied prevailing climatic conditions and varied methods adopted through landscape interventions and techniques to overcome the extreme conditions throughout the year, which in turn helps in reducing the consumption of energy.

**Keywords:** landscaping, energy-efficiency, shading, ventilation, windbreaks, climate-specific landscape design, roof-gardens, swale

## **1. Landscape - an introduction**

Landscape is specifically the amount of land, either countryside or cityscape, that can be seen at once in a glance by the eye in a single frame. Landscape can also be referred to as an area of either land or water, taken in aggregate. According to Norman T Newton in the forward to his "Design on the Land: The Development of Landscape Architecture" book, stated landscape architecture as "the art or the science if preferred of arranging land, together with the spaces and objects upon it, for safe, efficient, healthful, pleasant human use."

Landscape elements include parks, turfs, golf courses, managed bio reserves, soil systems, water systems, street-furniture, outdoor spaces, side-walks, lighting features, railings, and of course, vegetation.

Landscape is a common element in most architectural works. It has many functional values even though it is largely used for its esthetic properties. It can be shading devices & evaporative coolers during the summer period, windbreaks during the winter period, and light filters throughout the year. Environmental quality within a building can be improved significantly by plants. Urban heat island is one of the most discussed phenomena in the present world. It is more evident in dense urban forms. It affects human beings as well as the environment by having both physical and physiological impacts. Some of the causes for this phenomenon are inappropriate material selection for building envelopes, improper land use, transportation & traffic, impermeable surfaces, etc. However, the landscape can improve this situation at different levels. Urban heat island can be reduced by proper planning of vegetation around the dwellings at micro and macro levels [1].
