Landscape Architecture
Mission Statement
Landscape architecture is a discipline grounded in understanding scientific and social aspects of the environment and applying that understanding in creative design. Our purpose is to educate future leaders in the field of ecologically responsive design. Students go beyond acquisition of technical skills to gain critical insights related to design and the environment. They engage in “real” projects, such as programming, planning and design of public parks; design/build of educational exhibits; and the design of campus/civic landscapes that express the beauty and function of sustainable design.
Introductory Level Competencies (1000 level courses)
- Understand basic scientific principles, such as Law of Conservation of Matter and Laws of Thermodynamics, that underpin sustainable design.
- Understand sexual, structural and vegetative characteristics of bacteria, algae, fungi, nonvascular and vascular plants
- Learn ecosystem structure and plant communities
- Indentify woody plants via family, genus, species and variety using field observation
- Achieve competency in creating 2 and 3 dimensional drawings such as plans, sections, axonometrics and perspectives.
- Develop tools and techniques to develop, plot and manage 2 dimensional AutoCad (Computer aided design) drawings.
Mid Level Competencies (2000 level courses)
- Understand water, nutrition, biochemistry and metabolism, growth and development of plants
- Conduct laboratory experiments of the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils to gain an understanding of how soil functions in the environment
- Understand the importance of land form and grading design as a fundamental skill in landscape architecture
- Understand the implications of grading and road alignment on storm water run off patterns
- Learn to develop small scale landscape architectural designs that are creative, artistic responses to environmental contexts.
- Learn major historic periods and characteristic styles of landscape design from ancient times through the 20th century
- Develop design analysis and description, site analysis and development of an historic narrative
- Understand and apply precedent in developing design solutions
Upper Mid-Level Competencies (3000 level courses)
- Understand how to protect fundamental building blocks of a natural ecosystem, including water, land and biota by developing a field study and restoration plan for a specific site
- Understand built materials, such as carpentry and masonry, are used in landscapes and be able to develop construction details showing how such materials go together.
- Understand and develop a set of construction documents
- Understand and apply the process of developing a master plan for a large scale project, such as a park or housing development
- Understand how to design, organize, coordinate and build a full scale project, such as, an educational exhibit for the Philadelphia Flower Show
- Apply understanding of social use of space, as well as environmental analysis in developing design solutions
- Understand how to make an oral presentation of their design work and decision process before teachers, fellow students and critics from professional firms
- Understand the concept of plant communities and succession, as well as, the aesthetic and horticultural aspects of individual plants, in developing planting design
- Understand the operation of a professional office and types of professional practices/career avenues available to landscape architects
Advanced and Capstone Level Competencies (4000 level courses)
In the capstone design studios, students are expected to develop complex projects which carry a project through from large scale to detailed design. They participate in civic engagement and programming of a large scale project, such as town master plan and greenway development, public parks, or campus master plan. They develop site inventory and analysis, conceptual and finished design using a variety of illustrative techniques, including hand and computer drawings, and/or models. Students also develop detailed designs for a portion of the master plan showing an understanding of how materials, including plants, shape and inform outdoor space. A minimum 10 page report is required that describes the logic of the design process, including program and goals, analysis and resulting design. Students make oral presentations to the public, as well as, invited professionals, explaining the process and defending their decisions.