Course Description
Landscape design theory of the late 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Beginning with Olmsted's theories on social democracy and urban park design, will trace how architectural, artistic, social, and scientific theory, along with cultural ideas and values, have influenced our discipline, design, and built environment to present.
Athena Title
CONTMPRY LAN DESIGN
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Learning Outcome: Describe 20th- and 21st-century history of landscape design theory Measurement: Exam 2. Learning Outcome: Explain theories currently employed in landscape design and critique, including theory from aesthetics, architecture, ecology, health sciences, and sociology Measurement: Exam, written analysis, and class discussions 3. Learning Outcome: Evaluate and critique theory that will contribute to the ongoing landscape design theory discourse Measurement: Student group presentations during the spring all-college jury week 4. Learning Outcome: Generate a treatise of ideas that frame and explain personal design work Measurement: Completion of a theory treatise 5. Learning Outcome: Articulate the importance of a deep and healthy connection between the discipline and the practice of landscape architecture Measurement: Exam This course should help each student to: Knowledge: •Understand and articulate design theories of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and how other fields of study and application have influenced landscape design theory and practice. •Understand the design theory vocabulary, ideas, and criticism appearing in current articles from Landscape Architecture Magazine, Landscape Journal, and in books that include theory. •Understand the role of history and culture in addition to the disciplines of art, ecology, and sociology in creating our theory base. Skills: Each student at the end of the semester should be able to: •Apply various theoretical principles to current design studio work. •Follow an abstract theoretical idea through to a project concept and design. •Defend a project design using ideas and explanations from a body of theory. Values: By the end of the course, each student should appreciate: •The importance of understanding current cultural values and how theory might be used to challenge or change the status quo. •The importance of a healthy connection between the discipline and the profession of landscape architecture.
Topical Outline
Course content will be introduced through lectures and case studies. In-class discussion sessions will be used for students to summarize, analyze, and report on ideas and issues from our discipline. Group student presentations will form the central core of the course. During the course, each student will prepare a theory treatise that answers this question: “What theoretical constructs underpin or explain your practice?” Homework will be assigned during the first half of the semester to help students prepare to write the treatise. The case study will be used to explore how theory might translate into built projects. Readings from current journals and books will provide the basis for class discussions. This course will have direct applications to studio work, the student's thesis, and ultimately the body of theory that explains the student's future practice. Recommended Textbooks: -Swaffield, Simon, Editor. 2002. Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader. Penn Press, Philadelphia PA -Corner, James, Editor. 1999. Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Theory Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ -Balmori, Diana, 2010. A Landscape Manifesto. Yale University Press, New Haven CT Supplementary READING LIST: -Joan Iverson Nassauer. 2002. Chapter 9. “Ecological Science and Landscape Design: A Necessary Relationship in Changing Landscapes” in Ecology and Design. Bart Johnson and Kristina Hill, Editors. Island Press. pp. 217-230. -Joan Iverson Nassauer.1997. Chapter 4. “Cultural Sustainability: Aligning Aesthetics and Ecology” in Placing Nature: Culture and Landscape Ecology. Joan Nassauer, Editor. Island Press. p. 67-83. The following chapter from: -Michel Conan, editor. 2000. Environmentalism in Landscape Architecture. Dunbarton oaks Research library and Collection, Washington, D.C. -Elizabeth K. Meyer. “The Post-Earth Day Conundrum: Translating Environmental Values into Landscape Design” pp. 187-244. -James Corner. 1997. Chapter 3. “Ecology and Landscape as Agents of Creativity” in Ecological Design and Planning. George Thompson and Frederick Steiner, Editors. John wiley & Sons. p. 80-108. The following “chapters” from: -William Cronon, Editor. 1996. Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature. W.W. Norton & Company, NY. -William Cronon. “The Trouble with Wilderness: Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” pp.69-90. -Ann Whiston Spirn. “Constructing Nature: The Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted” pp. 91-113. -Catherine Howett. “Ecological Values in Twentieth-Century Landscape Design: A History and Hermeneutics.” Landscape Journal. 1998 Special Issue: Eco-relevatory Design. pp. 80-98. - Catherine Howett. “Systems, Signs, Sensibilities: Sources for a New Landscape Aesthetic.” Landscape Journal. Volume 6. Number 1. 1987. -Louise Mozingo. “The Aesthetics of Ecological Design: Seeing Science as Culture” Landscape Journal 16 #1 (Spring 1997): 46-59. -Marc Treib. “The Content of Landscape Form [The limits of Formalism]” Landscape Journal. 20:2-01 p. 119-140. The following chapters from: -Marc Treib, Editor. 1993. Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review. The MIT Press. Cambridge, Mass. -Chapter 1: Pierce Lewis. “American Landscape Tastes” pp. 2-13. -Chapter 3: Marc Treib. “Axioms for a Modern Landscape Architecture.” pp.36-67. The following “chapters” from: -Stuart Wrede and William Howard Adams, Editors. 1991. Denatured Visions: Landscape and Culture in the Twentieth Century. The Museum of Modern Art, NY. -Leo Marx. “The American Ideology of Space” pp. 62-78. -Steven R. Krog “Whither the Garden?” pp. 94-105. -John Beardsley. “Earthworks: The Landscape after Modernism” pp. 110-117. The following chapter from: -Michel Conan, editor. 2000. Environmentalism in Landscape Architecture. Dunbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. -Elizabeth K. Meyer. “The Post-Earth Day Conundrum: Translating Environmental Values into Landscape Design.” pp. 187–244. The following chapter from: -Joan Iverson Nassauer, editor. 1997. Placing Nature: Culture and Landscape Ecology. Island Press, Washington, D.C. -Joan Iverson Nassauer. Chapter 4. “Cultural Sustainability: Aligning Aesthetics and Ecology.” pp. 67–83.
Syllabus
Public CV