LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN
& PROCESS
IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, THE PROCESS OF DESIGN REQUIRES TRIAL & ERROR.
IT REQUIRES WORK THAT IS EXPLORATORY, WORK THAT IS DIVERGENT, WORK THAT IS NOT USED.
THE POSSIBILITY OF DESIGN

YOU MUST TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT: VARY YOUR DESIGN. DEVIATE. ANTI-CONCEPT.

WHAT IS CONTRADICTORY TO YOUR DESIGN CONCEPT. CONTRASTING. OPPOSITE.

EXPLORATORY DESIGN DOES NOT AIM TO PROVIDE THE FINAL FORMS AND ANSWERS TO THE
DESIGN, BUT MERELY EXPLORES THE DIFFERENT IDEAS WHICH COULD HAPPEN.

YOU ARE NOT SOLVING EVERY PROBLEM, BUT RATHER PICK A SINGLE ISSUE OR DESIGN AREA
AND EXPLORE, QUICKLY AND DIAGRAMMATICALLY SOMETIMES, WHAT COULD BE.

RESEARCH THROUGH
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN DESIGNING
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DESIGN
& PROCESS
THERE IS SATISFACTION TO BE FOUND IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.
THE DESIGN PROCESS HAPPENS DURING DINNER, DURING YOUR SLEEP, AND WHEN YOU LEAST
EXPECT IT. THE SATISFACTION COMES NOT IN THE FINAL DESIGN OR SOLUTION, BUT IN THE
JOURNEY THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR THE DESIGN SOLUTION.

THESE DESIGN STUDIES ARE

PURPOSEFUL ALTERNATIVES
USED TO EXPLORE AND
EVALUATE A RANGE OF
DIFFERENT MEANS OR FORMS
OR THEORIES TO ACHIEVE THE
SAME DESIGN GOAL.

PROBLEM SOLVING
SUSTAINABLE WITHIN DESIGN IS NOT A LINEAR PROCESS
DESIGN
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN
& PROCESS
THERE IS NO CORRECT ANSWER.
DESIGN TAKES TIME. DESIGN IS DISCOVERY.
THERE IS NO CORRECT ANSWER TO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN AND YOUR STUDIO ASSIGNMENTS. BUT SOME ANSWERS
ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS - AND IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE DESIGN
ALTERNATIVES, YOU WILL NOT FIND THE BETTER DESIGN AND
SOLUTION TO THE SITES ISSUES.

DESIGNSUSTAINABLE
IS THE PROCESS
DESIGN OF DISCOVERY
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN
& PROCESS
DESIGN IS NOT FUN.
IT IS FRUSTRATING. IT IS TIME CONSUMING. IT IS CHALLENGING AND MESSY.
THIS IS A PERSONAL DIALOGUE YOU HAVE WITH YOUR DESIGN. YOU GO DOWN
ONE PATH FOR 10 MINUTES AND PERHAPS A BETTER IDEA COMES ABOUT AND YOU
START THAT. OR YOU GO DOWN A PATH BUT IT LEADS TO NOTHING - YOU DON’T LIKE IT OR
IT DOESN’T WORK. OR, MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT DOESN’T WORK BETTER THAN
ANOTHER IDEA YOU HAVE CREATED.

THIS IS PART OF YOUR WEEKLY HOMEWORK. TRACE PAPER AND DRAWING.

DON’T FOCUS ON RESULTS. DESIGN HAS DETOURS AND DEAD ENDS. BUT THAT
IS THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T. NO ONE CAN KNOW
WITHOUT DOING THE PROCESS OF DESIGN.

DESIGNSUSTAINABLE
IS A CONTINUOUS
DESIGN STORY
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DESIGN
& PROCESS
WHERE DO DESIGN IDEAS COME FROM.

TIPS AND TRICKS

GO BACK TO YOUR CONCEPT STATEMENT. WHAT CLUES ARE THERE FOR IDEAS OR FORMS.
WHAT THEORY IS YOUR DESIGN BASED ON : ECO- REVELATORY? ABSTRACTION? HUMAN WELLBEING?
LANDSCAPE AS… PERHAPS YOU CAN JUST TELL A STORY IN YOUR SPACES AND SHAPES.
IS THERE A SPATIAL HISTORY TO THE SITE? ARE THERE LINES OR PATTERNS WHICH CAN BE TRACED?
ASDFAD
PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THE USER… HOW WILL SOMEONE WALK THROUGH THIS SPACE AND
USE IT? WHAT DO THEY NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR SITUATION? WHAT WILL THEIR EYES SEE?
GOOGLE IMAGE FOR SOLUTIONS OTHERS HAVE DONE. TAKE ONE OF THOSE IDEAS FOR FORMS AND
BEGIN TO DRAW IT ON YOUR DESIGN AND SEE WHERE IT GOES.

DESIGNSUSTAINABLE
IS THE PROCESS
DESIGN OF DISCOVERY
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN
& PROCESS
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IS A SKILL THAT
CAN ONLY BE LEARNED BY DOING.
IT IS A PROCESS OF REFINEMENT OF SOLUTIONS AND IDEAS.
IT IS A PROCESS OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION .
IT IS A PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING WHAT REALLY IS
THE DESIGN ISSUE.

YOU MUST TRY - YOU MUST INITIATE THE DESIGN PROCESS -

AS SCARY AS IT MAY BE.

YOU MAY SEE NO ROAD TO FOLLOW, NOT KNOW WHERE TO

START. THAT IS NORMAL.

DESIGNSUSTAINABLE
IS A HANDS-ON
DESIGN PROCESS
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DESIGN
& PROCESS
THE LANGUAGE OF DESIGN IS VERY DIFFICULT.
THE WORDS AND CONCEPTS USED IN THE BOOKS AND WEBSITES AND BY THE INSTRUCTORS CAN
BE CONFUSING. THE DESIGN LANGUAGE IS UNIQUE AND OFTEN COMPLICATED.

BUT YOU NEED TO DEVELOP THIS LANGUAGE IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE AND GRADUATE.

BALANCE - PROPORTION - SIMPLICITY - HIERARCHY - UNITY - SEQUENCE - TEXTURE - RHYTHM

JUXTAPOSE - VISUALISE - FOUNDATIONAL - ENGAGING - EMOTIVE - MATERIALITY - INFLUENCE
URBANISM - RESILIENT - PERMEABLE - ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE - PERFORMANCE - CONTEXT
CLIMATE ADAPTION - WATERSHED - IMPACT - CONNECTEDNESS - ECOSYSTEMS - CULTURAL
HUMAN WELLBEING - GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE - THEORETICAL - PRECEDENCE - EMERGENCE
RURAL - VALUE ADDED - REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT - QUALITY - COST EFFECTIVE - RICHNESS

DESIGNSUSTAINABLE
PROVIDES A MEANS TO BE AGENTS OF POSITIVE CHANGE
DESIGN
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
THE DESIGN PROCESS IS AN APPROACH FOR BREAKING DOWN A LARGE
PROJECT INTO MANAGEABLE CHUNKS. USE THIS PROCESS TO DEFINE THE
STEPS NEEDED TO TACKLE EACH PROJECT, AND REMEMBER TO HOLD TO ALL
OF YOUR IDEAS AND SKETCHES THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.

THE DESIGN PROCESS CONSISTS OF 6 STEPS

1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM AND DEVELOP A CONCEPT STATEMENT
YOU CAN’T FIND A SOLUTION UNTIL YOU HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.
2. COLLECT INFORMATION
MAKE SKETCHES, TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS AND RESEARCH TO GATHER DATA TO START GIVING YOU
INSPIRATION. LOOK AT PRECEDENT DESIGNS AND MAKE A FOLDER OF IMAGES
3. BRAINSTORM AND ANALYZE IDEAS
BEGIN TO SKETCH, MAKE, AND STUDY SO YOU CAN START TO UNDERSTAND HOW ALL THE DATA
AND INFORMATION YOU’VE COLLECTED MAY IMPACT YOUR DESIGN. REWRITE CONCEPT
STATEMENT.
4. DEVELOP SOLUTIONS
TAKE YOUR PRELIMINARY IDEAS AND FORM MULTIPLE SMALL-SCALE DESIGN SOLUTIONS.
5. GATHER FEEDBACK
PRESENT YOUR IDEAS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE: FRIENDS, TEACHERS, PROFESSIONALS,
AND ANY OTHERS YOU TRUST TO GIVE INSIGHTFUL COMMENTS.
6. IMPROVE
REFLECT ON ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK AND DECIDE IF OR TO WHAT EXTENT IT SHOULD BE
INCORPORATED.

REWRITE YOUR CONCEPT STATEMENT.

IT IS OFTEN HELPFUL TO TAKE IDEAS AND SKETCHED SOLUTIONS BACK THROUGH THE DESIGN
PROCESS TO REFINE AND CLARIFY THEM.
Chicago Architecture Center

THE DESIGN PROCESS

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IS HELPFUL
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CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DESIGNER

ENTHUSIASTIC
DISCIPLINED
WILLINGNESS TO LEARN
CREATIVE
GOOD COMMUNICATOR THE
INSPIRED DESIGN
THICK-SKINNED PROCESS
EMPATHETIC
SELF-HONEST
CONSISTENT
LOGICAL
ABLE TO FAIL
CONFIDENT
STRONG WORK-ETHIC
Simon C. Page

SKILLS SUSTAINABLE
ARE LEARNED DESIGN AND PRACTICED
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DESIGN
& PROCESS
ULTIMATELY, YOU SHOULD DESIGN WHAT FEELS GOOD TO YOU.
THE DESIGN PROCESS IS A CREATIVE PROCESS. IT IS A PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS.
IT IS AN EMOTIONAL PROCESS. IT IS YOUR PROCESS.
DESIGN THINKING FOCUSES ON IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM TO CREATE THE BEST POSSIBLE
FUNCTIONAL SOLUTION, BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALL THOSE SOLUTIONS BEGIN TO BLEND
TOGETHER? PEDESTRIAN FUNCTIONALITY AND ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONALITY AND HISTORICAL FORM
AND COST OR CONSTRUCTABILITY AND SEASONAL USES FUNCTIONALITY.
UNLIKE DESIGN THINKING, DESIGN FEELING EMPHASIZES DESIGNING BASED ON EMOTION AND
INTUITION, AS OPPOSED TO DESIGNING BASED ON THOUGHT, LOGIC, AND STRATEGY.
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND AND HISTORY WHICH CAN BE BROUGHT INTO THE DESIGN
PROCESS AND IDEAS. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER YOU LIKED ABOUT A CERTAIN DESIGN YOU VISITED?
WAS THERE A SPECIAL LANDSCAPE YOU VISITED OR SAW - WHAT MADE IT SPECIAL TO YOU? THESE ARE
STARTING POINTS FOR INSPIRATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING WITHIN THE DESIGN PROCESS.

THE GOAL IS TO CREATE

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN SOMETHING PERSONAL
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN
& PROCESS

(Not sure? Jump to Collect Info then return to this section)

(Not sure? Jump to Collect Info then return to this section)

Gather data to start giving you inspiration. Who is this design for?
How have other designs addressed similar problems?

Gather data to start giving you inspiration. Who is this design for?
How have other designs addressed similar problems?

Use the data and information you’ve collected to sketch ideas

that might solve the design problem.

Use the data and information you’ve collected to sketch ideas

that might solve the design problem.

© Copyright 2012-2016 Chicago Architecture Foundation.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR A CHANGING FUTURE

© Copyright 2012-2016 Chicago Architecture Foundation.
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN
& PROCESS

Notes:

© Copyright 2012-201 Chicago Architecture

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR A CHANGING FUTURE

 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION AND THE DESIGN STUDIO
Landscape architecture education covers a wide range of factors beyond the physical aspects
of landscapes. Landscape architecture must reflect the regional conditions and communities
in which it is located - the myriad ecological factors and socio-cultural influences create a
complex multi-faceted context. Landscape architectural education concentrates on the design
of physical spaces often expressed as drawings but also incorporates history, ecology,
sustainability, technologies, construction, philosophy, theory and other interrelated areas in
the social and natural sciences. These complexities are essential to a program’s education
sequence and integration of these diverse subjects with the design studio is critical.
Compared to other courses in the landscape architecture program, design studios typically
encompass the most credit hours per week and are meant to provide students with the
knowledge necessary in order to produce innovative and competent design solutions. The
main objective of a design studio is to develop students’ creativity and problem-solving skills
in design and allow them to produce landscape architectural projects that have dialogue and
balance between artistic and pragmatic thinking. Studio-based learning (SBL), digital based
or other, is a challenging structure in which to evaluate the design efficacy of problem-based
learning (PBL) (Cennamo et al., 2011). PBL within the landscape architecture studio setting
requires varied perspectives toward solution paths including diagnosis-solution problems,
decision-making problems, site-specific/case problems, and design problems (Jonassen and
Hung, 2008), all occurring simultaneously within integrated solution paths. SBL is a specific
type of PBL (Monson et al., 2008) within the design disciplines and is primarily student-led
(i.e. student work + instructor response) but distinctly collaborative. The PBL model has
shown to inspire higher involvement in student activities and advanced levels of
comprehension (Andreucci, 2019), key components of effective learning.
Though other pedagogical mechanisms for active learning are integrated within SBL as
discussed prior, design studio outcomes must reflect a student’s ability to produce designs
that are sensitive to the needs of the society, the environment, and technology. The landscape
architecture studio provides a rich learning environment in which students must confront the
complexities of realistic design situations and, by so doing, advance their understanding and
skills.
The design studio is a pervasive sensory environment and enables learning through
observation, imitation, exploration, and participation. This is the critical skillset required by
spatial designers to address the salient problems of the 21st century. The design exploration
process provide students opportunities to improve their design thinking, problem solving,
project development, and ultimately course success.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR A CHANGING FUTURE

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THE DESIGN STUDIO PROJECT REVIEW AND DESIGN CRITIQUE
In a landscape architecture (LArch) design studio, students express their ideas through
multiple visual communication techniques including digital or analog drawings, physical and
computer models, photography, sketches, and others. Student knowledge and skills are
developed and refined through the project critique or ‘crit’; it is a constructive and reflective
part of the design process. The studio’s design process and desk critique involve active
learning and immediate feedback which occurs organically between the instructor and student
or group. Further support for experiential learning efficacy within studio environments comes
from Jean and Wenger’s Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) theory (1991) which
highlights the participatory-based learning that occurs within the student-instructor
engagement and dialogue. The instructor facilitates and assists students in the complex
problem-solving design process, where students generate and refine design solutions,
communicate effectively both with instructor and classmates, collaborate, and experiment.
Design feedback is an essential pedagogical tool to promote student design progress, yet little
research has focused on what instructor feedback actually is in context and form (graphic,
written, etc.), what it looks like (standardised graphic methods) and their associated levels of
effectiveness. LArch design, similar to other design disciplines, is an iterative process; layers
of explorative solutions and differing ideas need to be revealed and ‘built-upon’ quickly;
particularly during a desk critique. As inspiration flows through the visualisation exercise within
design, access to prior avenues of problem solving need to be accessed quickly (See Figure).
This studio-based design critique process has traditionally been a paper-based approach
where multiple sheets of trace paper are torn and placed aside, then looked at and reviewed
later, often without context and confusion due the quick, ‘next layer’ process and lack of both a
base-map and written text for reference. This semester, we will be using technology to meet
the design studio review process.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR A CHANGING FUTURE

 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED LEARNING
The integration of digital tools within a studio approach for learning bases much of its
pedagogy on principles of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) (Mor and Winters, 2007). TEL
incorporates digital tools in innovative and transformative means, particularly for the design
disciplines where TEL can impact the learning experience through co-evolutionary knowledge,
new social and cultural learning contexts, and the convergence of practical and theoretical
perspectives (Goodyear and Retalis, 2010).
Traditional design studio learning frameworks, including those pre-digital, incorporate
constructive learning paradigms. TEL design studios create an active learning environment
with familiar digital tools, methods, and learning models, allowing the synthesis and creation
of new ideas and problem solving. The theoretical framework of constructivism (Vygotsky,
1978) is generally considered the most appropriate for contemporary learning (von Glaserfeld,
1989) and supports principles found within Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) (Kolb,
1984; Kolb and Kolb, 1999). ELT’s knowledge development occurs through the experience of
learning itself and reflects biological, cognitive, and behavioral tenets of how a person
understands and processes the information, and allows for active changes within the
operation of learning. The learning cycle can be summarised by four stages: concrete
learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation
(Wang, 2011). Effective learning can be seen during multiple progressive stages and the cycle
can be entered at any stage due to its logical sequence.
Specific to the design disciplines, Donald Schön, professor of urban planning and architecture
at MIT, reflected upon the collaborative and informal knowledge acquired during studio
courses. Building upon traditional, formal education models, Schön proposed learning through
experience, a form of knowing-in-action which augments the technical knowledge delivered in
university environments to reflect real-world activities in the professional workplace (Schon,
1984). This ‘learning-by-doing’ specific to design studio courses supports the tenets of ELT
and the educational empowerment provided by instructors facilitates critical learning
outcomes. The design studio, whether in a professional office or education environment,
embodies these constructive, collaborative principles to co-develop design and solutions.
Technology within the design studio enhances learning through explicit and implicit learning
and allows for design confidence to flourish within exploration. Digital tools and the
application of TEL within design studios connect technology to minds to action and enhances
the development of innovative solutions.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR A CHANGING FUTURE