topics: introduction to landscape architecture

syllabus

usp 510_3 credits_urbn220_fall2007_monday_6.40-9.20pm

instructors: carolina aragón [caragon@pdx.edu]

nathan hilmer [nhilmer@walkermacy.com]

[please feel free to contact the instructor through e-mail to arrange office
hours.]

course description: this course will give some insight into the design approach used by landscape
architects. It will explore the theories that influence our work and the manner in which these theories are
transformed into physical environments.
The course will be divided into two phases. The first phase will offer a theoretical and historical
understanding of the landscape architecture profession; the second will introduce students to the design
process through the development of a landscape architecture design project.

course objectives:

- to understand the cultural contributions of landscape architecture.

- to gain general knowledge of the elements that influence the practice of landscape architecture.
- to develop critical thinking about contemporary issues related to landscape architecture.
- to achieve clarity in the expression of ideas: orally, in writing, and through graphic representation.

grading:

_writing assignments [5]: 25%

_case study presentation: 20%
_site analysis assignment: 10%
_conceptual/schematic design: 30%
_participation/attendance: 15%

[late work will be automatically marked down by 10 points each day, unless prior
arrangements have been made with the instructors. Missing more than one class will affect
the participation/attendance grade.]

special needs: every effort will be made to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Please notify the
instructors during the first week of class so that any necessary accommodations can be arranged.

reading assignment: students are required to read all the texts indicated in the bibliography and
any additional materials added by the instructors. Students are expected to speak about the
assigned readings and contribute to class discussions.
writing assignment: for classes 2 through 6, students will prepare a brief one to two page
response to the assigned texts. This response should include the following:

_a. a brief summary of the author’s intention or main idea nested within an original thesis.

_b. your reaction to the ideas presented in the readings and any resulting questions that will help
stimulate in-class discussion. Please refrain from using extensive quotations from the text or
posing questions such as, “X asserts such and such, do you agree with that?” Make a concise and
cogent argument.

[writing assignments are to be e-mailed to both instructors by noon on the Sunday

preceding the class; please bring an additional copy to class for your use.]

class discussion: active participation is essential to foster stimulating exchange of ideas and is expected
of all students.

case study assignment: each student is expected to complete a case study assignment. Each
class from week 2 through week 8, students will present a case study that will supplement the
assigned readings and the in-class lecture.

The students presenting case studies for each class should become ‘experts’ on the topic of
study. They will present a brief summary of their case study and will prepare questions. Their
independent investigation should be tied in to the class theme and their questions and expertise
will stimulate and guide the discussion.

Students will self-select a case study from a list provided on the first day of class. Visual material
is essential for the presentation of the case studies. Power Point presentations are highly
recommended (any other format should allow the images to be visible to all the class.)

[re: case study presentations. Power Point or other digital media should be e-mailed to the
instructors by noon on Monday prior to the presentation.]
texts:

(the reader and book contain all the required readings shown in the bibliography)

_course reader: Introduction to Landscape Architecture – USP 510 available @ Clean Copy

_S. Swaffield. (2002) Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader, (Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press). [on reserve at the library]

bibliography:

class #2: What is Landscape?

Spirn, Anne, “The Language of Landscape,” in Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader

(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), p.125-136

Jackson, John B, “The Word Itself,” in Landscape in Sight: Looking at America. H.L. Horowitz, editor. (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), p.299-306

Stilgoe, John R, “Wilderness, Landschaft, Roads, Landscape,” in Common Landscape of America

1580 to 1854 (New Haven: Yale University Press,1982), p.3-29

class #3: FLO: the first landscape architect

Spirn, Ann, “Constructing Nature: The Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted,” in Uncommon Ground:
Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (New York: W.W. Norton & Company,1996), 91-113

Smithson, Robert, “Frederick Law Olmsted and the Dialectical Landscape,” in Robert Smithson: Collected
Writings. Jack Flam, editor. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), p.157-171

class #4: Ecology & Design: nature [and/versus/is] culture

Forman, Richard T, “The Missing Catalyst: Design and Planning with Ecology Roots,” in Ecology and Design:
Frameworks for Learning (Washington: Island Press, 2002), p.85-109

Nassauer, Joan I, “Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames,” in Theory in Landscape Architecture: A

Reader (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), p.196-206

McHarg, Ian, “ An Ecological Method,” in Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader

(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), p.125-136

Del Tredici , Peter. “Brave New Ecology,” in Landscape Architecture Magazine. February 2006. p. 46-52

“Brave New Ecology – or Same Old Mistakes?” Subsection of letters to the Editor. Landscape Architecture
Magazine. April 2006. p.17-25
Class#5: The Working Landscape

Thayer, Robert, “Gray World, Green Heart,” in Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader (Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), p.189-196

France, Robert, “Green World, Gray Heart,” in Harvard Design Magazine, Spring/Summer 2003: p. 31-36

Hill, Kristina, “Green Good, Better, and Best,” in Harvard Design Magazine, Spring/Summer 2003: p. 37-40

Strang, Gary, “Infrastructure as Landscape,” in Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader (Philadelphia:

University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), p.220-226

class#6: Sense of Place

Jackson, John B. “ A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time,” in A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1994), p.150-163

Frampton, Kenneth, “ Towards a Critical Regionalism,” in The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture.
Hal Foster, editor. (New York: The New Press, 1998), p.17-34

Lewis, Pierce, “American Landscape Tastes,” in Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review (Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1993), p.2-17

Class#7: Conceptual Design

Halprin, Lawrence, “The RSVP Cycles” in Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader (Philadelphia: University
of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), p.43-48

Descombes, George, “Shifting Sites: The Swiss Way, Geneva,” in Recovering Landscape: Essays in
Contemporary Landscape Architecture (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999), p.78-85

Corner, James, Stan Allen, “Emergent Ecologies,” in CASE: Downsview Park Toronto (Munich: Prestel Verlag,
2001), p.58-65

Class#8: Turning Design into Reality

Olin, Laurie. “Form, Meaning, and Expression in Landscape Architecture,” in Landscape Journal, Fall 1988, vol.
7, no. 2., p. 149-168

Class#9: Brownfields: the parks of the 21st century?

Latz, Peter, “Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord: the Metamorphosis of an Industrial Site,” in Manufactured Sites:
Rethinking the Post-Industrial Landscape (Londpm: Spon Press, 2001), p. 150-165

Young, William, “Fresh Kills landfill: the Restoration of Landfill and Root Penetration,” in Manufactured Sites:
Rethinking the Post-Industrial Landscape (London: Spon Press, 2001), p. 178-192
schedule [subject to change]

_1 you are here: selected landscape architecture projects in pdx 9.24.07

class introduction

_2 what is landscape? 10.1.07

reading/writing assignment_case study presentation_class discussion
guest speaker: Caitlin Pope-Daum

_3 f.l.o: the first landscape architect 10.8.07

reading/writing assignment_case study presentation_class discussion

_4 ecology & design: nature [and/versus/is] culture 10.15.07

reading/writing assignment_case study presentation_class discussion

_5 the working landscape 10.22.07

reading/writing assignment_case study presentation_class discussion

_6 sense of place 10.29.07

reading/writing assignment_case study presentation_class discussion
guest speaker: Ken Pirie

_7 the big idea: the role of conceptual design 11.5.07

site analysis assignment_class discussion

_8 translation & representation: turning design into reality 11.12.07

conceptual design assignment_class discussion
guest speaker: Ben Vaughn. How to build a roof garden.

_9 brownfields: the parks of the 21st century? 11.19.07

schematic design assignment

_10 variations on a site: student projects presentation 11.26.07

individual presentation of design projects