I taught the Sophomore design studio from 1991 through 1995. This course emphasizes theories of design applied to landscape problems at the pedestrian scale. Issues of particular concern were review of basic design, introduction to three dimensional design, design process, application of design process and theory to increasingly more complex problems. The primary text was Introduction to Landscape Design by Motloch.
A pedagogy evolved for this course. It was based on a number of experiments to achieve a balance of confidence building experiences, a high level of support for the student on the first project, rapid development of problem solving skills (formulation of appropriate design process) and ability to form and characterize space. The development of intellectual and craft skills was similarly sequenced. The first portion of the course addressed basic design elements and principles. The second part focused on design process and user behavior while in the third part the students encountered the problems of responding to an actual client, program and complex process, design and spatial problems.
DISCUSSION AND EXAMPLES OF STUDENT PROJECTS - 1995
TWO DIMENSIONAL COMPOSITION
The first project had two parts and was intended to be a review of design elements
and principles. It was, also, intended to be a confidence building exercise - a
product which the student could be proud of. I provided the students with
substantial support in the structure of the initial problems and by simplifying the
process which the landscape designer usually follows. Since the student is
concurrently taking the landscape graphic course, the first project does not require
sophisticated graphic modeling. The first project was to create a two dimensional
composition which responded to a frame. The composition below was created by Lynne
Scott. The composition was then used as the aesthetic basis for the second
assignment of the semester.
PLAZA DESIGN
The image below is the design of a plaza based on the two dimensional composition
completed in the previous exercise. This strategy is useful in breaking
preconceptions and inspiring more innovative solutions than those produced
when the
class is assigned the design of a plaza from the outset. This approach demonstrates
that aesthetic cues can be derived from the context or frame of an exterior space.
Finally, the design is successfully completed in a short period of time and
requires only rudimentary graphic skills for a satisfactory product. I used a
discussion of how the two dimensional composition served to structure and inspire the
design to impart an understanding of design processes in which general concepts lead
sequentially to specific, detailed proposals. In subsequent projects the students
define, for themselves, a rational design process and follow it. The plaza below
was designed by Ms. Scott.
DEXTER HOUSING PROJECT
The intermediate project of the 1995 studio was a small multiple family housing
project in Seattle. The students were required to graphicly display basic design
process steps (concept, programming, site inventory and analysis, schematic design,
design development and design justification). A text description and a video tape
of the site were used as the basis of a site analysis. This product was required
to be generated in Aldus Freehand as a way to link learning in another course to the
design studio. The designs below were created by Karen Boos and Jay Bemis.
MASTER PLAN FOR EASTERN IDAHO TECHNICAL COLLEGE
The final project of the 1995 class was a master plan for Eastern Idaho Technical
College. A field trip was conducted to the site to collect data and meet with the
client. The students did a wonderful job of creating a design process and defining
the required products. They organized themselves into teams to do the inventory and
analysis and schematic designs. This several site inventory and analysis sheets
were required to be generated in Auto Cadd as a way to link learning in another
course to the design studio. After development of a schematic master plan,
individuals selected areas of the campus to design according to the schematic
concepts. It was clear that the design process work on the Dexter project had been
assimilated fully enough to enable the students to customize a process for a new
problem with little interference by the instructor.
The master plan and the focus area designs were presented to the client using an
interactive compressed video link between Moscow and Idaho Falls, Idaho. The
following four images show plans and sections created by individuals in the class.
D. Curtis
R. Prescott
L. Scott
B. Jarolomeck
DISCUSSION AND EXAMPLES OF STUDENT PROJECTS - 1994
Generally, I have students design a small multi-family project to introduce
site planning and
behavioral issues which they would explore at a larger scale in other courses. The
next image is a perspective by Paul Miller (1994) of a mixed housing and commercial
complex.
DISCUSSION AND EXAMPLES OF STUDENT PROJECTS - 1993
In 1993 the final project of the semester was the design of a plaza for the newly
constructed University of Idaho Library. The image below is of a design for the
Library Plaza by Lisa Spray (1993).
DISCUSSION AND EXAMPLES OF STUDENT PROJECTS - 1991
In a previous year, I experimented with requiring the students to create three
dimensional models for the first project in their design studio. The rationale is
that students can create better designs working directly in three dimensions
rather than more abstractly in two. Also, the students have poorly developed
graphic
skills at this stage. This limitation frustrates the expression of many good ideas.
To support this project, I created a base and a number of primitive shapes in a
simple modeling program (Modelshop). The student was asked to create a
three dimensional
environment by manipulating the shapes (copying, rotating, stretching, etc.). The
students printed a hidden line version of their designs and used these to create the
perspectives shown below. You can see the sophistication of the work the students
did on the first project of their first design studio. In spite of the success of
this approach, it was abandonded due to the lack of funds to purchase simple 3-d
modeling software and pressure to separate computers from design.