Urban Sites / Making Landscapes

“Cities have been the places where individuals and their cultures developed. … The art of environmental design is properly directed to that end… We could go further and consider the effect of the man-made environment on the growth and development of other living species…The ideal is enticing, but unfortunately its meaning is uncertain. For the time being, we must speak for ourselves.”                                                                                                                         K. Lynch, Enciclopedia Italiana, 1973

“We have proposed ‘landscape realism’ as a philosophy that requires an honest appraisal of human relationships with other forms of life. This does not require the elevation of other species’ needs above human needs. But it does require a careful mapping of the relationships among humans and among species, and emphasizes the importance of choosing to act ethically within those relationships. Perhaps the greatest challenge of bringing ecology and design into a closer working relationship is that it forces us to confront the question of whether humans can successfully share their current living environments with the other forms of life that evolved in those places.”                                                                                                                           K. Hill and B. Johnson, Ecology and Design, 2002

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this course is to introduce the use of natural processes in design as a basis for design language and as a source of site- or landscape-scale design strategies. The contemporary “non-equilibrium” theoretical model of ecology provides part of the intellectual foundation of the course, drawing on theories and examples from conservation biology and landscape ecology. The other major theoretical foundation is design theory itself, as presented by the instructors.

The central idea of this course is that designed landscapes can perform ecological functions whether or not they use naturalistic forms. A wide variety of formal geometries may be used to achieve the same functional goals. The question is, what functions can be achieved, and what meaning can be conveyed using different types of forms? The goal of design in this course will be to establish ecological functions that support characteristic regional biodiversity, while also acting as a vehicle for cultural meaning. Formal vocabularies will be introduced which have different associated meanings derived from historical cultural uses. These formal vocabularies will be used to both explore opportunities to increase environmental sustainability and to develop a culturally-meaningful aesthetic of dynamic change and human adaptability.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will be encouraged to:

(1) develop a design vocabulary that allows you to structure landscapes to achieve particular functional goals, with an emphasis on ecological functions;

(2) establish a basis for life-long learning about ecological systems;

(3) gain a basic understanding of the variables that are currently considered critical to the sustainability of Puget Sound ecosystems, especially as these are affected by urbanization;

(4) make use of the history of ideas that lies behind contemporary ecological design; and

(5) explore contemporary modes of representation that express current cultural concerns.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The projects in this studio are designed to be cumulative; in other words, they are meant to “add up” to a set of final presentation materials. You will be asked to save the product of each exercise to be used as part of your final presentation materials. The term is divided into units, during which we will use a variety of exercises to focus on particular themes:

Unit 1 (weeks 1 + 2)                  Harbour Farm, Whidbey Island   (design for biodiversity and human use)

Unit 2 (weeks 3 + 4)                  Representing ecological processes: points, lines, surfaces, and flows at multiple spatial scales

week 3:             plan views, exploded axonometrics

week 4:             sections

Unit 3 (weeks 5 + 6)                   Initial design investigations, mid-term review

Unit 4 (weeks 7 - 10)                  Re-visiting site scale organization and interventions

week 7:              schematic design          

week 8:              planting design

week 9:              graphic representation

week 10:           final studio reviews

At the end of each unit, we will hold a pin-up in studio to review the products of the exercises associated with that unit. The final design exercise will require you to use the exercises you have done before, and your final presentation will include the products of all of the previous units of this course. So don’t throw anything out!

EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

In addition to the studio exercises, all students are asked to keep a design sketchbook for this term. This should include drawings of places, diagrams of possible designs, axons and sections of possible design ideas, pasted-in photocopies or prints of design precedent ideas, drawings and information about plants and materials used in the design ideas, and notes from reviews and pin-ups. Sketchbooks will be handed in at the mid-term and at the end of the term. Prizes will be given for the best sketchbooks, in addition to grades!

Everyone in this course is expected to participate in pin-ups (which means presenting your own work and discussing the work of others), sign up for group or individual crits from the instructors, participate in scheduled field trips, and participate in the final presentation of the course. Student work will be evaluated based on its completeness as well as on the conceptual fluency it represents, as judged by the instructors.

READINGS

Most of the readings for this course will be introduced in LA 363, which is offered at the same time as a theory course that is “paired” with this studio. However, students are encouraged to obtain copies of the following recent books on design in addition to the required reading of LA 363:

Downsview Park, Toronto / CASE series, Prestel publishers, ed. Julia Czerniak

Recovering Landscape / ed. James Corner

Ecological Design and Planning / Wiley and Sons, eds. William Thompson and Frederick Steiner

The Big Book of Environmental Design

The Language of Landscape / Anne Spirn

Road Ecology /   ed. Richard Forman

There are also a number of academic journals that will be helpful for life-long learning in this area of design. The following are particularly useful:

Praxis

Landscape Journal

Landscape and Urban Planning

Conservation Biology

Ecological Applications

Ecological Monographs

Landscape Ecology

Ecological Engineering

Restoration Ecology

 

 

COURSE OUTLINE

Unit 1:   Harbour Farm, Whidbey Island

Week 1On Monday and Wednesday of this week, we will use exercises in studio or in a local landscape to develop a shared understanding of landscape forms as a vocabulary for ecological design.

On Friday, we’ll travel to Whidbey Island for a weekend charrette with the owners of Harbour Farm (Bruce and Carol Hosford). We’ll return Sunday, early afternoon. Details to follow re: what to bring, and a briefing book will be provided for the design exercise.

Week 2              Development of Harbour Farm designs

                        Monday – desk crits or pin up with Tom Berger, founder, The Berger Partnership

                        Wednesday – work time, crits with instructors

                        Friday – work time, crits with instructor

Week 3              Monday:   review with outside guests, including Bruce Hosford  

Unit 2:   Seattle waterfront

                        Wednesday: site representation slideshow, discussion, and exercise #1

Friday, April 15: tour of waterfront with City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck, a historian and an ecologist

Week 4              Monday: pin up of site representation exercise #1; hand out representation exercise #2

                        Wednesday: work time

                        Friday: pin up for exercise #2

Week 5              Initial design investigations

                        Monday: hand out exercise #3, work time

                        Wednesday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

                        Friday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

Week 6              Monday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

                        Wednesday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

                        Friday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

Week 7              Schematic design investigations: getting down on the ground, looping back to the diagram                 

                        Monday: Mid-Term Review

                        Wednesday: work time; hand out exercise #4; desk crits/small group crits

                        Friday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

Week 8              Monday: small group pin-ups for exercise #4; hand out exercise #5 (planting design)

                        Wednesday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

                        Friday: work time, representation “help session” with 3 rd year students

Week 9              Monday:   small group pin-ups for exercise #5; work time

                        Wednesday: work time, desk crits/small group crits

                        Friday: work time

Week 10            Monday: work time

Wednesday: Final studio reviews

Friday: Final studio reviews

IMPORTANT :    Class will meet during scheduled final exam period for reflections, evaluations.