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. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 14,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 15,
Fieldwork Hours 21,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
333 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has [2] components of assessment.
Component 1: Group Design Investigations (A3 Landscape Format digital document/min. 15 pages), 30%, due between weeks 4-6, relating to/assessed against three Learning Outcomes (LO1, LO2 and LO4).
Component 2: Individual Design Investigations (A3 Landscape Format digital document/approx. 25 pages), 70%, due in the December exam diet, relating to/assessed against all four Learning Outcomes (60% of LO1, LO2 and LO4 and 100% of LO3).
Further information:
Group Design Investigations: This assessment component will critically curate and communicate collectively produced research and analysis, mappings, field observations, landscape interpretations, identified socio-ecological issues, critical evaluations, large-scale strategies and a landscape proposition for a given territory. The documents should present a mixture of text, drawings, visuals, maps and images. This assessment component will be submitted to Learn.
Individual Design Investigations: This assessment component will present a critically curated body of individually produced design and technical investigations for a selected site. The Individual Design Investigations will be an individually authored digital document that carefully presents a few selected and/or improved elements of work conducted during the first phase of the course that help to contextualise the thinking behind the individually produced work and the individually produced work conducted during the second phase of the course. Work will include research and analysis; mappings; field observations; landscape interpretations; identified socio-ecological issues; case study analysis; critical evaluations; landscape strategies and landscape architecture proposals; appraisal, and application of sustainable and regenerative techniques and processes; illustrative and technical sections; visuals and supporting images, models and visuals, and written text etc. This assessment component will be submitted to Learn.
To help students with making both submissions, we will study examples in class and discuss possible workflows including both analogue and digital options. Students wishing to produce analogue or mixed-media outputs may use the ECA wood, metal, casting, photography and print workshops in addition to their allocated studio space. For student who prefer to work digitally, workshops on digital tools will be provided during the course. ECA Digital Media Skills offers workshops on various software, including InDesign, which is available for free to ECA students.
Resubmission Information
The resubmission arrangements for this course are as follows:
- The resit task for assessment component 1 is Group Design Investigations, A3 Landscape Format digital document, min. 15 pages. 30% assessed equally against three Learning Outcomes (LO1, LO2 and LO4 @ 10% overall grade each).
- The resit task for assessment component 2 is Individual Design Investigations, A3 Landscape Format digital document, approx. 25 pages. 70% assessed equally against Learning outcomes LO1, LO2, LO4 (15% each). LO3 will be allocated 25%.
Students will receive further resubmission information as per University regulations as necessary.
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| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Students will receive verbal feedback from the Course Organiser and Course Tutors during group and individual tutorials. Verbal formative feedback will be provided by the Course Organiser and Course Tutors during formative reviews. Peers might also offer verbal feedback during formative reviews, but these comments should be considered as informal observations and not formal critiques. Verbal feedback from teaching staff during tutorials and during formative reviews is intended to help students improve their coursework ahead of summative assessment submissions but can also help to inform the development of work on future courses.
There will be two formative reviews during the semester.
During formative review 1 (indicative date Week 5) each group will be asked to present collectively produced research, site analysis, field observations, critical evaluations, identified socio-ecological issues and initial strategies and spatial proposition for a given geographical territory. All students will be invited to discuss the area of the territory they might wish to develop individually in phase 2. Students will receive verbal formative feedback ahead of the first summative assessment submission. Students will be invited to record/document the verbal feedback at this formative review. The Course Organiser will upload general written notes from the review day to Learn within two days to allow groups a chance to improve work ahead of the first summative assessment deadline. This approach helps students and staff to develop a shared understanding of assessment, engaging in a shared evaluation of formative work which aims to improve feedback literacy.
During formative review 2 (indicative date Week 10) individual students will be asked to present work from their personal project and will be invited to communicate how it responds to the groupwork and wider territory. This presentation will include research and analysis of the site; critical evaluations; case study analysis; research, appraisal and application of range of sustainable and regenerative techniques and processes; speculative landscape strategies and spatial proposals for the positive transformation of the landscape and its communities (human and more-than-human); and supporting visuals. Students will receive verbal formative feedback ahead of the final summative assessment submission.
Summative Feedback
Summative written feedback will be provided by the Course Organiser and course tutors for both the Group Design Investigations and the Individual Design Investigations. Summative written feedback will respond to the Learning Outcomes and can help students understand where they might look to improve areas of learning on future projects. Occasionally assessors might also write additional notes in summative written feedback about lines of enquiry students might be interested to research for future reference.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations.
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| No Exam Information |
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 | Miss Chloe Hancock
Tel: (0131 6)50 4124
Email: chancock@ed.ac.uk |
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