Landscape Representation II

VIS 2142 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

The Landscape Representation II course examines the relationship between terrain and the dynamic landscape it supports and engenders. It posits landforming as a critical component in orchestrating the assemblage of ecological forces, material distribution, and program by design—in short, landscape architecture.

This course focuses on computational landform analysis, generation, and population as an iterative process of design and testing. It relies on parametric workflows to facilitate fluid transitions between these three broad stages rather than treating them as distinctly linear steps. It demonstrates a model of design in which formal and performative characteristics are inseparable, simultaneously guiding design decisions while freeing the designer to express their artistic will with a clear understanding of its performative impact.

The course combines lectures that introduce foundational concepts and precedents with labs that provide hands-on workflow tutorials for digital techniques. Each class opens with a lecture explaining why we use certain techniques and exploring relevant examples of built and unbuilt projects. The lab session follows with the detailed "how," applying the technique through guided exercises.

Through hands-on exercises, this course develops the computational fluency necessary for contemporary designers and, beyond that, the ability to craft a personalized design methodology based on each student's interest and habits of mind.

By the end of the course, students will understand the types of terrain data available to designers today and how to use them. They'll grasp principles of topographic and hydrological analysis, along with topological and geological definitions of landforms. They'll understand techniques of additive, subtractive, and cast modeling, as well as the relationship between physical modeling and design development. Students will deploy reciprocal workflows of sculpting and analysis, choreographing relationships between ground, biota, and people through design. They'll deploy digital techniques to render the experiential qualities of designed landscapes and deploy techniques of animation to explore changes over time. Ultimately, they'll design and represent the relationship between landforms and the dynamic landscape they support and engender.