Urban Plants: The Social Life of Plants

Catalog description

Plants are the quintessential “material” of landscape architecture, but it is a commonly held conception in the horticultural world that designers know nothing about plants. This course will build skills and knowledge for designers to respectfully draw upon the expertise of professional gardeners and horticulturalists, and to connect this with an understanding of how the larger urban ecosystem "works", including urban design, policy, civic infrastructure, funding, phasing and maintenance. In this course, we will build bridges to understanding botany and horticulture; hone planting design skills, approach and intuition; and use analytical drawing to explore the multifaceted ways in which plants and humans connect in the urban ecosystem. The course will center on developing a design proposal for planting and maintenance in the urban public realm - students should be prepared to think, write and draw critically.