Design IV: Expanded Use, Scale, and Context

Catalog description

Landscape Architecture Studio 4 - the fourth studio in the undergraduate Landscape Architecture curriculum - follows LARCH 215 and introduces students to the broader perspective of landscapes as expressions of cultural and natural processes. Theories, methods, and tools for effectively studying and analyzing larger scale landscapes will be explored through readings and studio assignments. Students will be presented with landscapes in different geographic contexts and develop skills in conducting landscape research and analysis and using appropriate tools and techniques for effectively exploring alternative land use scenarios. In support of the expanded complexity of working at a larger scale, students are expected to draw upon their knowledge of ecology and ecosystems from previous coursework (LArch 145 and 245). Students will also draw upon precedent studies they may have conducted in landscape architecture history (LArch 060) and previous design studio courses. Students enrolled in LArch 216 will be concurrently enrolled in the associated skills course (LArch 256) that will develop their knowledge and skills with the tools of landscape planning, specifically geographic information systems (GIS). In addition, students will continue to develop skills in graphic representation and written and oral communication as a means to disseminate their planning and design proposals for review and discussion.