Undergraduate Course: Design: Terrain & Ecologies (ARCH08065)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Part-year visiting students only |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | Design: Terrain & Ecologies is a 2nd year landscape architecture design studio that builds on foundational knowledge and skills acquired during the 1st year. This course aims to evolve site analysis and design skills by engaging with a large and complex geographical territory and its communities (human and more-than-human), landforms, land uses, cultural patterns and environmental systems. Students will be guided to identify and respond to key socio-ecological concerns, and to research, appraise and apply a range of multi-scalar regenerative techniques and nature-positive processes which will help to inform the development of speculative sustainable landscape architectural design proposals for a large-scale territory. |
| Course description |
Around the world landscape architects are responding to large-scale global emergencies (climate crisis, biodiversity loss, pollution events) in collaboration with other disciplines. In this course students are invited to engage with a geographical territory and its communities (human and more-than-human), and to explore multi-scalar regenerative approaches within speculative proposals for tackling self-identified socio-ecological issues. Students will have contact with specialists (e.g. ecologists, geologists etc.) to receive best-practice guidance on how to sustainably transform and manage the terrains and ecologies of their selected site(s).
Students will work as part of a group during the first weeks and individually in later weeks, to evolve collaborative and autonomous research, analysis, and design skills. All students will be expected to build up a body of collective and individual design investigations over the duration of the semester, and to bring along and discuss developing work at tutorials. Evolving coursework will be presented and reviewed at formative reviews.
The course will typically run on two days. Weekly lectures will be supported by related practical workshops/seminars. The course will include supervised fieldwork in a selected territory, where a range of contexts and topics will be investigated and discussed collectively on site. Students will be invited to develop their own methodologies for documenting/engaging with the landscape and its communities ahead of visiting the site(s). Each week, students will participate in group or individual tutorials with teaching staff to guide them through the process of developing relevant lines of enquiry and speculative landscape architecture proposals. As this is a 40 credit course, 400 effort hours are required, many of which will be spent in independent study, making and developing work outside of the timetabled contact activities. A studio, workshops and the broad range of facilities at ECA will be available for your use during this time. To support the students' project development on the course, reading lists, texts and other media resources will be shared with the class at key stages.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Local field trips (approx. £30), drawing and model-making materials, printing costs (approx. £50) |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have at least 1 introductory level Landscape Architecture theory course equivalent to Landscape Theories: Histories (ARCH08059) or Landscape Theories: Critical Zone (ARCH08061) and 1 introductory level Landscape Architecture design course equivalent to Design: Site & Process (ARCH08063), at grade B or above for entry to this course. This course has limited available space and there is no guarantee of enrolment. Enrolment is subject to Course Organiser Approval. Enquiries about enrolling in this course must be sent directly to the CAHSS Visiting Student Office at cahssvisitingstudents@ed.ac.uk to seek permission. This course is primarily project-based with accompanying course lectures, so it is relatively easy for visiting students to join. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Evaluate a complex landscape from a range of territorial, spatial and socio-ecological perspectives informed by field observations, research and analysis.
- Develop multi-scalar strategies and speculative landscape architecture framework proposals that respond to landscape-based challenges and synthesised landscape interpretations.
- Identify, appraise and apply a range of sustainable and regenerative techniques and processes that can lead to the positive transformation of a large-scale landscape and its communities.
- Curate and communicate a body of design investigations to a wider audience using a range of representational techniques.
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Reading List
Armengaud, Matthias, et al. eds. Towards Territorial Transition. Park Books, 2023.
Francis, Robert A., et al., eds. The Routledge Handbook of Landscape Ecology. Routledge, 2022.
Lake, Sophie, et al. Britain's Habitats: A Field Guide to the Wildlife Habitats of Great Britain and Ireland. 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, 2020.
Mathur, Anuradha, et al., eds. Design in the Terrain of Water. 1st ed., San Francisco, California: Applied Research + Design Publishing with the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, 2014.
Armengaud, Matthias, et al. eds. Towards Territorial Transition. Park Books, 2023.Smithson, Peter, et al. Fundamentals of the Physical Environment. 4th ed., Taylor & Francis Group, 2008.
Tree, Isabella, and Charlie Burrell. The Book of Wilding: A Practical Guide to Rewilding, Big and Small. Bloomsbury, 2023. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and enquiry: By analysing facts, data and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions you will advance problem data literacy and problem solving skills.
Collaboration: By working as part of a team you will evolve skills in understanding and respecting the needs, perspectives and actions of others; fostering cooperation and managing conflict in groups. Engaging with others from a range of backgrounds and disciplines will assist you to connect with and learn from others, and to build positive relationships.
Curiosity: By exploring complex topics related to large-scale geographical territories and their communities (human and more-than-human) you will discover important socio-ecological concerns and will learn to ask searching questions from a range of perspectives.
Communication: By articulating information, ideas and landscape architecture design proposals to others in visual, oral and written form, you will become a more effective communicator
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| Keywords | Fieldwork,terrain,ecologies,territory planning,regenerative design |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Elise Campbell
Tel: (0131 6)51 5803
Email: ecampbe8@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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