PROGRAM
APPROACH
Participatory Process
The
Department emphasizes participatory process in all
of its focal areas – ecological infrastructure,
ecological literacy, and culturally based placemaking.
We believe that participation of users, communities,
and the public is critical to creating a meaningful,
diverse, and sustainable environment.
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| The
design studios in particular provide opportunities for service
learning, advocacy, and university-community partnerships.
In recent years, the Department has worked with Native American
tribes in the Northwest, local schools in Seattle, Asian American
communities in Puget Sound, rural towns in Alaska, and many
other community organizations both local and abroad. Through
projects, students and faculty build constituencies that bring
multiple and creative definitions of design problems, engage
in design development, and support implementation and stewardship
of design solutions. The department’s experience in building
community-university partnerships was highlighted recently
in the “Community-University Partnerships Case Studies
Series,” published by UW’s Educational Partnerships
and Learning Technologies. |
|
Prof.
Lynne Manzo and students at a
community design meeting. |
Classes and projects that highlight participatory process:
LARCH 362 Landscape Design in Urban Context
LARCH 402 Neighborhood Design Studio
LARCH 503 Community Design Studio
Design Inquiry
Our faculty has developed a commitment and an approach to using
design as a way of asking and answering questions, both in the graduate
design studios and in the thesis process (for students who select
the design thesis option). What this means is that our faculty select
projects for graduate studios that involve asking research questions
as well as exploring design opportunities. Our intent is that, at
the graduate level, design should be based on the process of asking
and answering questions and not solely on the application of existing
professional knowledge and experience.
In studio, this intent can be carried out by combining a narrowly
defined research project with design explorations. For example,
in the past we have tested the idea that it is possible to predict
the volume of pedestrians on sidewalks based on the configuration
of streets in a neighborhood and regional context (it turned out
that configuration was not as good a predictor as the location
of retail in a grid-city like Seattle). One of our grad studios
has received an award for research on the best strategies available
to small towns confronted with the pressures and urban design implications
of large retail stores. Others have been able to participate in
important local planning and design processes, bringing research
to bear on transit design, the development of plans for culturally
diverse urban neighborhoods, and the use of new rainwater harvesting
technologies to improve aquatic habitat quality on a landscape
scale. |
In the
Master’s thesis process, students who select the design thesis
option are asked to articulate a critical position that lays out
their argument for what constitutes “good” design,
before they begin their own design work. Once they have completed
their design studies, the students are asked to reflect on whether
they have gained new insights by trying to apply this critical
position to design. Would they write it differently, given what
they’ve learned? We see this as an important reflective step
that often motivates students to find ways of “testing”
their thesis design, in qualitative as well as quantitative ways,
and encourages them to ask themselves whether there is broader strategic
value in the innovations they may have proposed.
In
addition to design studios, courses that address design inquiry include:
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Cross-cultural
design collaboration. Neighborhood Design, Wi. 2003.
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LARCH
570 Scholarship and Research in Landscape Architecture
LARCH 571 Seminar in Landscape Architecture Research
LARCH 590 Seminar in Landscape Architecture
LARCH 600 Independent Study or Research
LARCH 700 Master’s Thesis |
Professional
Skills
The
core curricula of our accredited degree programs provide students
with strong professional skills in design, site and landscape planning,
construction materials and processes, and graphic, written and
verbal communication. Our aim is to develop abilities to think
creatively, manage complexity, embrace diverse real-world perspectives,
and work in teams to solve problems and shape positive change in
our communities, region and world.
In addition to design studios, courses that address professional
skills include:
LARCH 331 Grading and Drainage
LARCH 322 Introduction to Planting Design
LARCH 332 Construction Materials and Details
LARCH 411 Landscape Drawing and Graphics
LARCH 412 Landscape Communications
LARCH 433 Sustainable Large-Scale Construction
LARCH 440 Computers in Landscape Architecture
LARCH 473 Professional Practice
LARCH 476 Practicum
LARCH 498 Introduction to CAD
In addition, students take courses in soils, botany, landscape
restoration, forestry and geology in other departments at the
University of Washington.
International Opportunities
The field of landscape architecture increasingly
involves international practice that requires cross-cultural knowledge
and perspectives. The
department's curriculum supports international exchange through
programs abroad and collaboration with partner institutions overseas.
Past and current programs include summer field studios in Berlin
and China, design/build studios in Japan and Mexico, quarter-long
program in Rome and collaborative studios with Chiba University
in Japan and Tamkang University in Taiwan. Students also
have the opportunity to participate in other foreign study programs
in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. |
