Landscape Architecture Courses
LAEL 1020-01 / LDAR 1020-01
ISSUES IN LANDSCAPE HISTORY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course examines current issues raised by the design of built environments and explores the cultures, conditions, events, attitudes and design works of the past that form the ideological, physical and practical background against which today's landscapes are made, interpreted and valued. Critical to this course will be the establishment of frameworks for historical inquiry, the refinement of research methodologies, and the development of multiple perspectives through which to question and understand and the designed environment.
This course is recommended for NCSS concentrators.
Offered as LAEL-1020 and LDAR-1020.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LAEL 1020-02 / LDAR 1020-02
ISSUES IN LANDSCAPE HISTORY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course examines current issues raised by the design of built environments and explores the cultures, conditions, events, attitudes and design works of the past that form the ideological, physical and practical background against which today's landscapes are made, interpreted and valued. Critical to this course will be the establishment of frameworks for historical inquiry, the refinement of research methodologies, and the development of multiple perspectives through which to question and understand and the designed environment.
This course is recommended for NCSS concentrators.
Offered as LAEL-1020 and LDAR-1020.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LAEL 1044-01 / LDAR 1044-01
HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This survey course focuses on the history of landscapes in the pre-industrialized world. Landscapes will be considered as an evolving condition, even when their defining characteristics were conceived and built at a specific point in time. Critical to this course will be the establishment of frameworks for historical inquiry, the refinement of research methodologies, in the development of multiple perspectives through which to question and understand the design environment.
This course is recommended for NCSS concentrators.
Offered as LAEL-1044 and LDAR-1044.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LAEL 1044-02 / LDAR 1044-02
HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This survey course focuses on the history of landscapes in the pre-industrialized world. Landscapes will be considered as an evolving condition, even when their defining characteristics were conceived and built at a specific point in time. Critical to this course will be the establishment of frameworks for historical inquiry, the refinement of research methodologies, in the development of multiple perspectives through which to question and understand the design environment.
This course is recommended for NCSS concentrators.
Offered as LAEL-1044 and LDAR-1044.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LDAR 1750-101
WHITE GOLD: COTTON GEOGRAPHIES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Using a cotton t-shirt as the point of departure, we will critically analyze the ways in which landscape has been shaped by the many geographies of cotton. In doing so, we will consider materiality, labor and economic relations, and global distribution networks. Using Anni Alber’s notion of “the event of a thread”, we will seek to understand how cotton operates at a range of scales, beginning with the individual plant, and frame our investigation through the lens of multiple histories, including the US, with particular emphasis on Rhode Island’s role in the slave trade and textile industry, and in Central Asia, looking at the role of the former USSR and current cotton production practices in Karakalpakstan and Xinjiang. The first phase of the course will focus on drawing as a means of both discovery and communication. The focus will be on researching and analyzing the cotton as a material system, and how that system is spatialized in the landscape, culminating in a final drawing or series of drawings. The second phase of the course will focus on critical making, using cotton as the primary material, as a means of:
- modeling landscape conditions interconnected material geographies
- developing a methodology for critical material use
- communicating material cultures in order to disrupt professional practices
Elective
LDAR 1755-101
FORMS OF DECAY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Decay, in its meaning of decomposition and transformation, has earned its significance in the ecosystem we live in. From ancient agricultural compost techniques to modern urban landscapes, decay has always been the critical point of the natural material cycle. However, in the landscape we currently live in, no matter the daily removal of fallen leaves in urban parks or the hidden compost bin in our backyard, decay is still something that’s seen as a liability. So it’s worth asking: “How would a decay-focused landscape look and function? What does it mean for us?”
Through a series of lectures introducing students to the different forms of decay in natural phenomena
and human-built environments, as well as a field trip combining these two fields of decay as a whole,
students will explore the word decay with 2D drawings in phase 1, a group field material collection and
display in phase 2, then develop their critical understanding of decay. In phase 3, students will individually design a conceptual landscape that acknowledges and celebrates the existence of various forms of
decay. The final project will be a physical model and supporting drawings.
Technical guidance on conceptual landscape design and physical model-making workshops will be provided by the instructor throughout the whole course period; no prior knowledge of conceptual landscape design is required. Students will be highly encouraged to bring different understandings of decay from their cultural background to this course.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00
Elective
LDAR 2201-01
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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
LDAR 2201-02
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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
LDAR 2203-01
SITE | ECOLOGY | DESIGN STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
What do these words mean and what is their relationship to each other in the architectural design disciplines? Each word is packed with complex and evolving meanings that reflect the state of human knowledge about the environments in which we live and in which we intervene. Each word reflects our understanding of systems, physical, cultural and social, biotic and abiotic, as well as our aspirations to conserve, restore, or reshape those systems. Each word is ubiquitous in the contemporary quest to construct a sustainable, resilient future. But do we really understand what they mean? Are they critically interdependent or can they be considered separately? This studio will examine these questions with the twin objectives of establishing an evolving and dynamic understanding of the terms and generating working methods that respond to the complexities of scale encountered in the landscape.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2203-02
SITE | ECOLOGY | DESIGN STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
What do these words mean and what is their relationship to each other in the architectural design disciplines? Each word is packed with complex and evolving meanings that reflect the state of human knowledge about the environments in which we live and in which we intervene. Each word reflects our understanding of systems, physical, cultural and social, biotic and abiotic, as well as our aspirations to conserve, restore, or reshape those systems. Each word is ubiquitous in the contemporary quest to construct a sustainable, resilient future. But do we really understand what they mean? Are they critically interdependent or can they be considered separately? This studio will examine these questions with the twin objectives of establishing an evolving and dynamic understanding of the terms and generating working methods that respond to the complexities of scale encountered in the landscape.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2204-01
CONSTRUCTED LANDSCAPES STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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
LDAR 2204-02
CONSTRUCTED LANDSCAPES STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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
LDAR 2205-01
URBAN SYSTEMS STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This final core studio stresses large-scale and planning issues, complex sites, and urban conditions. The city is a living organism which evolves in a particular locale with a particular form due to a combination of environmental and cultural factors. These factors, the forces they represent and the material results of their interaction form, in their interrelated state, what can be called urban systems. The many forces at play within cities-social, cultural, economic, ideological, ecological, infra structural, morphological and visual-combine in various ways to created both an identifiable urban realm and the many sub zones within this. Yet, none of these factors is static and unchanging; and, as a result, urban systems, urban dynamics, and urban identity are likewise in a continuous state of flux. This studio will explore these systems and the complex issues at play in our urban areas and the potential for positive change. Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2205-02
URBAN SYSTEMS STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This final core studio stresses large-scale and planning issues, complex sites, and urban conditions. The city is a living organism which evolves in a particular locale with a particular form due to a combination of environmental and cultural factors. These factors, the forces they represent and the material results of their interaction form, in their interrelated state, what can be called urban systems. The many forces at play within cities-social, cultural, economic, ideological, ecological, infra structural, morphological and visual-combine in various ways to created both an identifiable urban realm and the many sub zones within this. Yet, none of these factors is static and unchanging; and, as a result, urban systems, urban dynamics, and urban identity are likewise in a continuous state of flux. This studio will explore these systems and the complex issues at play in our urban areas and the potential for positive change. Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2205-99
URBAN SYSTEMS STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This final core studio stresses large-scale and planning issues, complex sites, and urban conditions. The city is a living organism which evolves in a particular locale with a particular form due to a combination of environmental and cultural factors. These factors, the forces they represent and the material results of their interaction form, in their interrelated state, what can be called urban systems. The many forces at play within cities-social, cultural, economic, ideological, ecological, infra structural, morphological and visual-combine in various ways to created both an identifiable urban realm and the many sub zones within this. Yet, none of these factors is static and unchanging; and, as a result, urban systems, urban dynamics, and urban identity are likewise in a continuous state of flux. This studio will explore these systems and the complex issues at play in our urban areas and the potential for positive change. 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
LDAR 223G-01
URBAN CONTEXTS: THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF CITIES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This seminar addresses contemporary issues in of cities within a historical, cultural and global context. Lectures will cover the history of urbanization, urban spatial form, and contemporary urban theory. Students will spend the semester studying and comparing global cities through 3 phases of research: historical development of the city, contemporary urban issues and future scenarios.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
LDAR 223G-02
URBAN CONTEXTS: THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF CITIES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This seminar addresses contemporary issues in of cities within a historical, cultural and global context. Lectures will cover the history of urbanization, urban spatial form, and contemporary urban theory. Students will spend the semester studying and comparing global cities through 3 phases of research: historical development of the city, contemporary urban issues and future scenarios.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2251-01
MATERIAL LOGIC: WOOD, METAL, STONE, CONCRETE, SOIL
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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
LDAR 2251-02
MATERIAL LOGIC: WOOD, METAL, STONE, CONCRETE, SOIL
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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
LDAR 2252-01
PLANTS: BOTANY AND ECOLOGY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
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