landscape architecture…

Laurence A. Clement, Jr., JD, ASLA17 January 2009

(… you can call me ‘Lorn’)

Mission, History, Art, Science, Technology, Work, A good time…

LA: our Mission is to:

• Accommodate human needs, activities and desires while protecting and managing natural resources with a Stewardship land ethic...

• To move society forward in seeing humans as part of nature and not separate from it…

• To find ways to develop and redevelop land in rural, suburban, and urban areas in Sustainable ways...

Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community Project in LAR 220 by KKP, LAC, et al.

LA is: the History

• … of human beings and culture in relationship to nature, with varying and evolving approaches to settlement patterns, and creating work environments, housing, gardens, parks and recreation areas… and other forms of people interacting with land…

• …in Urban, Suburban and Rural Contexts…

Firms to look at: FLO, EDAW, Olin, Sasaki, SWA, etc.

LA is: Art • … where experience of Visual and Spatial Phenomena are

conceptualized and realized, and

• Acoustic,

• Tactile,

• Thermal and other sensory qualities are considered, especially as experienced through movement…

• …Kinesthetics…

• …Memories…

Firms to look at: Martha Schwartz, Kathryn Gustafson, Robert Murase

Firms to look at:Vladimir Djurovic: Faqra Garden in Beirut

• Spatial extension… • Linear and planar

expression…• Light and space, texture…• Overlapping volumes and use

areas…• Integrated grade / level

changes…• Highest quality materials… • Precise details… • Articulation of the edge…

LA is: Science:

• … especially Ecology, where Paradigms are shifting:1. Spatial scale shift: organism vs. system; boundary vs. node

2. Temporal shift: cycles, rates of change, (and the role of history)

3. Spatial pattern shift: landscapes as mosaics*

… it is interesting to note that the poet Jane Hirshfield has concluded that Zen Philosophy can be boiled down to three key ideas:

1. everything is connected;

2. everything is changing; and

3. we must pay attention… **

* Kristina Hill: “Shifting Sites” in Site Matters, p. 135

** Bill Moyers: Fooling with Words; A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft, p. 100

Kristina Hill, Shifting Sites

• “Cognitive research has shown that metaphors are fundamental to human thinking in everyday situations, as well as in formal theory building. These abstractions appear to be vital to the human ability to form meaningful expectations about relationships and patterns.” (p. 135)

• The importance of Language, clarity of communication, whether in speech, writing, drawing, modeling spatial frameworks or flows of time, energy or materials…

Firms to look at: Andropogon, Jones & Jones, Darrel Morrison

LA is: Technology

• …and Engineering • …with a concern for knowing about traditional and

conventional ways of building communities and dwellings, and for learning new ways of construction or “design implementation” that involve:– Structural systems,– Selection of materials,– Techniques of joining, fastening…

• … all geared toward integration and low impact, efficiency, affordability (infill, reducing urban sprawl), and beauty.

Firms to look at: (for circulation, earthwork and infrastructure, esp.)Olin, Sasaki, Bernard Lassus (France)

Landscape Architects Work at:

• a Variety of Scales with: – Architects, – Interior Architects, and – Planners

• to achieve cohesive, rich and memorable environments for living, working and playing, around the world…

• See:asla.org/awards/2008/08winners/

Firms to look at: EDAW, MESA, Olin, MVVA, GHA, OVS…

This is a good time to go into landscape architecture:

• Managing urban growth is recognized as an important goal/objective by society;

• Public infrastructure is clearly in need of rebuilding and retrofitting; those tasks have been identified as key ways to stimulate the US economy to: – create good jobs; – retool our systems for energy generation and

distribution; – improve transportation; and – conserve resources.

This is a good time to go into landscape architecture:

• It matters;• Its challenging;• Its fun and exciting;• Its rewarding in many ways:

– Personally: life-long learning– Socially: helping people, meeting people – Culturally: community well-being along with client

satisfaction– Monetarily: you get paid well for creative work

This is a good time to go into landscape architecture:

• All of this is aimed at improving the Quality of Life for as many people as possible...

End Notes:

• Most of the images used in this presentation represent the work of firms in which our fourth-year students have done internships – the best firms in the country – and those students have performed admirably in those internships, across the USA.

• Our fourth-year students can study abroad, too; travel to new places and experience in other cultures is clearly beneficial, for all of us in our continuing education and life.

End Notes:

• As a department we measure our success largely by that of our students ... as they engage the professional practice of landscape architecture and later on.

• Our reputation for excellence in that regard confirms our impression that the coordinated and rigorous teaching, research and service programs we run really work.

• We are very proud of our graduates.

Go to:ASLA and firm websites…

• … look for ‘professional awards’

• http://asla.org/awards/2008/08winners/

• … and Portfolios of project work…