Landscape Design Studio 3: Living Systems

The course looked at planting design as the core. Setting aside the purely functional roles of spatial subdivision and screening, and the obvious benefits of aesthetic delight, planting starts to be increasingly important to the context within which it is designed and also to the biotic elements that thrive in its existence. The fundamentals that landscapes are not static and that they constantly evolve and demonstrate changes was investigated, along with looking at planting as systemic entities that work together with other parts to create diverse functional and experiential quotients. The studio allowed for exposure in low maintenance designs, taxonomically diverse compositions, demonstration of temporal changes and consideration of future growth and change. The module explored planting themes to evolve strategic thinking along with technical resolution. The course enabled students to envisage and develop a landscape design for a specific site using multiple design scales, drawing and modelling it in ways appropriate to the chosen proposal, keeping in mind notions of ecological planting design. The final product was in terms of experiential narration as well as technical drawings.