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Course
Description
Major monuments and spaces from ancient Middle East through Classical
Antiquity, the Renaissance, and Western Tradition.
Prerequisite
None.
Academic
Objectives
This course
is an overview of the history of the designed landscape. The
designed landscape refers to the discipline of Landscape Architecture
and pertains to many aspects of the landscape architectural profession
- public and private landscapes - those that have been designed
and altered substantially, those of conservation, and those of
preservation.
Landscape
Architecture is "the art-or science, if preferred-of arranging
land, together with the spaces and objects upon it, for safe,
efficient, healthful, pleasant human use." The title Landscape
Architect was first used by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert
Vaux when they won the design competition for Central Park in
New York City in 1858. "They professed themselves 'landscape
architects,' inventing the name to convey their intent to bear
toward the total landscape the same relation that an architect
bears toward a building, with essential emphasis on design."
Newton,
Norman T. Design on the Land
Social,
cultural, and ecological practices and attitudes that are reflected
in the creation of space will be visited over and over again
throughout time, re-interpreted by designers to become new compositions.
A value of historical exploration is its relationship to present
and future design problem solving - as precedent for various
motive - for form, for practical considerations, for organizational
techniques, for design methodology, and for inspiration, among
others. Historical precedent is the basis of invention, this
course is meant to contribute substantially to the breadth and
depth of knowledge available, primarily in the form of precedent,
for future design studies and practice.
Drawings
and models are the most prominent means of communicating ideas
- they are the language of the profession. Research, analysis,
and synthesis are communicated to an audience through graphic
representation. This course aims to place the study of historically
significant landscapes within the context - or language - of
the discipline.
Particular
designed landscapes will be surveyed in a slide lecture format
with student interaction in the form of interpretation and representation
through drawings and models. Drawing exercises will encompass
specific aspects and places of each slide presentation. Your
interpretation and consequent representation will be accomplished
through in class sketching and further individual research and
exploration resulting in the creation of a memory device, or
sketchbook, as an approach to enrich future work.
"For
many artists it is the inventive capacity of representation that
enables them to provoke new and alternative ways of seeing the
world."
Corner,
James. Taking Measures Across the American Landscape
Evaluation
Each project
(and exam) will be evaluated and receive a grade:
A Distinctive
professional school quality (90%-100%)
B Distinctive professional school quality with minor revisions
(80%-89%)
C Distinctive professional school quality with moderate revisions
(70%-79%)
D Distinctive professional school quality with major revisions
(60%-69%)
F Incomprehensible or without redeeming qualities (below 60%)
Letter
grades will be granted based on the relative professional quality
of the work completed as of the specified due dates. Grades will
be assigned based on the instructor's professional judgment,
which shall be final but may be appealed as described in the
current CSU General Catalog under "Academic Appeals."
Examinations
will be worth 15% (150 points) of the final grade each,
the history sketchbook will be worth 25% (250 points) of the
final grade, the landscape reading will be worth 15% (150 points)
of the final grade.
Policy
regarding academic honesty / dishonesty
Please
refer to the University statement on academic honesty in the
General Catalog under the section "Student Rights and Responsibilities."
Required Reference
Newton, Norman T. Design on the Land
Sullivan, Chip. Drawing the Landscape, second edition
Recommended
Reference
Jellicoe,
Geoffrey and Susan. The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment
from Prehistory to the Present day
Lyndon and Moore. Chambers for a Memory Palace
Required
Supplies
One 9"
x 12" BLACK spiral sketchbook, model making supplies
and equipment.
Projects
and Examinations
EXAMINATIONS.
Four examinations
will be comprised of slide identification, multiple choice, and
true-false questions. Exams will cover information from the required
reading, Design on the Land by Norman T. Newton, and material
presented in class. Information from those sources will be each
student's responsibility, as questions on an exam may refer to
either source. No formal reading schedule exists here; however,
it is recommended that the student read material of related subject
matter as it is addressed in the presentations. Some information
from the presentation may differ from that of the reading, such
as a date, which in many cases are approximate. In those instances
either of the two references would be appropriate. The three
interim exams will cover approximately one third of the semester
each, the final will be comprehensive.
HISTORY SKETCHBOOK.
A daily
sketchbook of class notes and freehand sketches will be completed
in an appropriate bound volume - a 9" x 12" sketchbook,
containing at least 80 pages.
Daily
slide presentations will periodically pause with the purpose
of creating 'thumbnail' sketches from slides. Time devoted to
such drawings will be variable and communicated at the commencement
of each pause. As a general rule sketches will last approximately
a couple minutes for quick gesture sketches to ten minutes permitting
more detailed studies. Sketches done in class may be very loose
thumbnail representations or relatively elaborate drawings -
the intention is to capture enough information to allow research
and embellishment outside of class.
Sketch
subjects may occur in the margin, in the body, or be provided
a full page. Drawings will involve important places, details,
and/or concepts, from the presentation of that day.
The sketchbook
is meant to be a memory device for landscape architectural precedents.
Drawing heightens perception of important aspects of the designed
landscape. Drawing enhances the way we see, strengthens our memory,
and creates a set of visual notes for reference, future study,
and continuation. Drawing can increase awareness of scale, proportion,
texture, material, light, shade, and color. Drawing allows discovery.
LANDSCAPE
READING.
Landscape
reading, an analytical model, is a group project. Each member
of the group will receive the same grade for the project, regardless
of their perceived contribution. Three dimensional models will
be constructed and discussed. The project has two parts, one
about historical design analysis and accuracy, the other about
the physical design (or craft) of the model. Each model will
be transportable and able to be placed vertically.
Five to
ten minutes per group will be available for presentations to
be given during class. A lottery will determine the order.
Extra
Credit
(optional)
LANDSCAPE
TRIPTYCH. (0 - 100 points)
A triptych
is a painting, a drawing or other representation done on three
panels. The images on the three panels should represent a composition
of colored, constructed plan, section, elevation, perspective
and/or axonometric views within one historically significant
designed landscape of your choice. The objective of this project
is to explore, in many dimensions, spatial meaning and organization
through representation of the chosen landscape, with emphasis
on experience and characterization of the space.
The triptych
should be color and rich in depth, shadow, texture, detail, etc.
The composition needs to include your name, project title, and
any significant narrative about the landscape. |
