This course provides a cultural history of landscape and landscape architecture through various voices, lenses, and built examples. Following a loose chronology, this seminar will trace the shifting trajectory of landscapes at multiple scales, including lawns, gardens, and suburbs; roads and sanitary infrastructure; agricultural and energy landscapes; rivers and waterfronts, among others. As the second history-theory course in the sequence, we will continue to build upon key concepts explored in History-Theory 1, such as the relationship between Nature and culture, land ethics, systems thinking and ecology, and how landscape architecture has operated as a site for unequal, racialized distributions of power. To that end, we will study, define, critique, and attempt to make sense of the multiplicity of actors that shape environments, including the role of the Designer and the inextricably intertwined forces of colonization and capitalism, federal policies, non-humans, shifting attitudes about Nature, etc. 
 
To provoke critical thinking about the development of landscape form and ideas, readings will be drawn from various perspectives, including landscape architecture, social and environmental history, anthropology, science and technology studies, queer and feminist studies, and geography. These fields will help us understand history as a foundation for thinking about the landscape’s relationship between past and present and center and margin. By critically probing landscape architecture’s canon and its counter-narratives, we will consider how we can be better poised to understand and articulate our own contributions to the field as future practitioners.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This course explores design principles central to landscape architecture. Three interrelated aspects of design are pursued:

1) the elements of composition and their formal, spatial, and tectonic manipulation

2) meanings conveyed by formal choices and transformations

3) interactions of cultural and ecological forces in the landscape.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This core studio stresses middle scale landscape architectural design. A series of studio problems will explore urban public spaces. Students will endeavor to represent contemporary cultural and ecological ideas in land form. There will be an emphasis on constructive strategies, the use of plants in design and methods of representation.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This course introduces students to the material properties of wood, metal, stone, concrete and soil. Through material experiments, hand drafted material details, 1:1 construction and material case studies, students will gain experience working with the materials to understand the inherent constraints and opportunities of each material. In addition, a series of field trips will help students understand the geographies of material extraction and the processes of assembly and installation.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This class will explore the botanical, horticultural and ecological aspects of plants and plant communities. Through lectures and field trips, students will become familiar with the form, physical qualities, identifying characteristics, seasonal aspect, preferred growing conditions, native habitats and ecological function of common plants of New England. In addition, lectures will focus on contemporary ecological theories around disturbance ecology and ecological succession to gain an understanding of how designers can work with these forces to shape landscapes over time.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This course will explore the use of plants as a design medium while balancing the horticultural considerations. There will be analyses of existing gardens, field trips, and the creation of schematic and detailed planting plans for different types of sites. Topics such as seasonality, texture, color and form will be discussed.

Open to Landscape Architecture Students only.

Registration by the Landscape Architecture Design Department; this course is not available via web registration. Please contact the department for permission to register.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This seminar addresses advanced problems in landscape construction, materials, and site engineering. In this class, students will be asked to apply their knowledge of landscape technologies and materials gained from earlier classes into an abbreviated technical drawing set. Through the drawing set, students will gain an understanding of the different stages of design including; concept development, schematic design, design development, and construction documentation. This project will become the basis for understanding the how details and materials develop and change throughout the pre-construction process.

Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students only.

Major Requirement | MLA-II Landscape Architecture

All entering Landscape Architecture students are required to participate in the department's four-week preparatory summer program in design fundamentals and field ecology. This course parallels similar ones being held for new students in other departments within the Architecture and Design Division. The design fundamentals component of the program is intended to provide the methodological and theoretical framework for RISD's Landscape programs and initiates discussion of design making and critique necessary for the more specialized studio work that follows. The summer course, in preparation for this, builds a basic design language, familiarity with tools and materials, and 2 and 3-dimensional skills that will be needed immediately upon entering the studio sequence. The field ecology component of the summer program places basic design discussions within the context of landscape-based practice. It is intended to build awareness of ecological issues (using southern New England as a case study), facilitate the ability to interpret the landscape and the nonhuman and cultural forces which have shaped it over time, and foster an environmental ethic. This segment of the program is critical for building a knowledge base and a philosophical framework within which future design efforts may be evaluated. The summer program offers a unique opportunity to engage classmates and faculty in a focused discussion of design-related issues which can be sustained over the course of one's studies. The course meets five days a week (including some weekends).

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

All entering Landscape Architecture students are required to participate in the department's four-week preparatory summer program in design fundamentals and field ecology. This course parallels similar ones being held for new students in other departments within the Architecture and Design Division. The design fundamentals component of the program is intended to provide the methodological and theoretical framework for RISD's Landscape programs and initiates discussion of design making and critique necessary for the more specialized studio work that follows. The summer course, in preparation for this, builds a basic design language, familiarity with tools and materials, and 2 and 3-dimensional skills that will be needed immediately upon entering the studio sequence. The field ecology component of the summer program places basic design discussions within the context of landscape-based practice. It is intended to build awareness of ecological issues (using southern New England as a case study), facilitate the ability to interpret the landscape and the nonhuman and cultural forces which have shaped it over time, and foster an environmental ethic. This segment of the program is critical for building a knowledge base and a philosophical framework within which future design efforts may be evaluated. The summer program offers a unique opportunity to engage classmates and faculty in a focused discussion of design-related issues which can be sustained over the course of one's studies. The course meets five days a week (including some weekends).

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This course develops the different levels of dexterity and control in the construction of architectural drawing. The pedagogy allows for students to build a basic understanding of orthographic drawing typologies and traditional drawing methods while preparing them for more complex hybridized drawing methods. A parallel segment of the course addresses freehand representation, developing observation and translation tools necessary to design. Through these multiple approaches, drawing is developed as a tool to transform conceptual ideas into tangible form. The class will be taught as a series of lectures that discuss both why and how we draw accompanied by skill building workshops.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This seminar builds on the class Material Logic to investigate and test landscape materials and construction methods with an emphasis on prototyping and digital fabrication. Students will learn to take an idea from concept to prototype to 1:1 construction. Through research, lectures, and site walks, this course will build student's understanding of current landscape construction methods and ask them to develop new materials and assemblies to respond to specific site and design considerations. Through exercises, students will advance their CAD and Rhino skills, as well as learn how to prototype ideas through the use of 3D printers and CNC machine.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This seminar will bridge the foundations of landscape theory, research, and design methods in order to frame a process for students to examine contemporary issues in landscape architecture and define research questions that would contribute to creating new knowledge in the field. The course will include guest lectures from practitioners creating a body of research in the field. This seminar initiates the thesis process by asking students to formulate their own proposals for research through design.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This seminar will bridge the foundations of landscape theory, research, and design methods in order to frame a process for students to examine contemporary issues in landscape architecture and define research questions that would contribute to creating new knowledge in the field. The course will include guest lectures from practitioners creating a body of research in the field. This seminar initiates the thesis process by asking students to formulate their own proposals for research through design.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

Rivers are layered landscapes that reflect how different societies have related to the land, natural resources and to one another. Shifting values about stewardship, control, extraction, and restoration have become physically manifested in the landscape through the intentional and unintentional shaping of the river landscapes. In this interdisciplinary studio, students will be asked to consider the relationship between textiles and landscape architecture practices to address, reconcile and interpret the complex ecological and cultural histories of rivers. Weaving and other structural textile techniques will be explored as both a metaphor and a physical strategy to weave together the multiple cultural narratives of a river as well as consider how to support the diverse river ecologies and the unique experiential qualities of being at the water's edge. The Blackstone River will provide the geographical, cultural and ecological lens for the studio. Some of the overarching material, formal and performative questions we may ask in the studio are: How can fibers be used to stabilize the water's edge, direct flows and provide habitat for riparian plant and animal species? Can the woven materials become unglued from the ground plane to shape the human aesthetic experience of the water's edge? Can textiles be used to interpret or reveal the multiple stories, histories and layers of the landscape? How can basket weaving traditions inform the way we manage the landscape? How can woven materials be integrated with living plant material, mycelium, and soil? How can the density of a textile aggregate and disperse to respond to different site conditions or to shape the pattern of plant growth? How long should the materials persist? Could they be designed to degrade overtime? What is the relationship between traditional craft practices and digital fabrication or scripting? Can community groups be involved in the construction and installation of the textiles as a way of rebuilding a connection between people and place?

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

Autumn Site works is a grounded, creative space for a more attentive and reciprocal relationship between people and local biodiversity. Our weekly classroom will be an outdoor test plot at RISD’s Tillinghast Farm, where we will listen to visiting speakers, tend to plants and soil with our hands, and draw our close attention to the many life forms, forces, and surprises in the landscape. Each student will have the creative freedom to design an experimental land-based practice, installation, or event within the plot. Our work will be respectful of diverse ethics, from climate resilience to symbiosis and beauty. However, our learning direction will be focused on topics like the labor of caring for a landscape rich with relationships, local material sourcing for habitat creation, and community stewardship building.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective