Design and Theory V: Advanced Landscape Architectural Design

Catalog description

Review of landscape architectural theories and issues; supports development of comprehensive design study and/or independent honors (Thesis-Based) design projects. LARCH Majors only. LARCH 414 Design and Theory V: Advanced Landscape Architectural Design (5-15) Fourth- and fifth-year design studios are designated 'depth' studios. Each studio is aligned with one of the department's associated research centers or pursues special topical content and continues the development of site-scale planning and design skills for landscape architecture students with larger and more complex sites and programs Students select a topic from the range of options. Students may choose to take a given topic on a maximum of two occasions.Topics are related to issues that have been introduced in previous studios and are as varied as possible from studio to studio. This allows students to select a topic of interest to explore with great intensity and detail. The studio alternatives offered each year are based on faculty expertise and student interest, and are chosen by the department head's review of faculty proposals. To date, studio topics have ranged from historic preservation to recreational landscapes, urban ecology to community planning. The type of project is determined on an individual basis, and will be rigorous and require a high level of depth of thought and a sophisticated product. Project types include regional master planning, large-scale site planning and medium-scale community/housing design. The design issues emphasize urban form, community identity and open-space systems in the United States as a follow-up to urban patterns experienced during the student's previous study abroad. The project types may include such topics as inner-city locations with mixed-use and complex programs that progress from research and planning to site-scale design. Often, students work with an actual client, such as an urban planning commission or a city economic development entity, etc. Issues of urban form as a setting for significant practice opportunities are emphasized. Locations such as brown fields, urban entertainment districts, waterfronts, housing infill, etc., form the basis for design response in context.Course Objectives: -To develop an in-depth understanding of one or another aspect of landscape architecture. -To be exposed to the rigor and challenges of developing and implementing one's own design expertise in the context of a specific environmental concern. -To exercise the design principles, technological tools and communication strategies developed during the course of the specific design studios.