CritiquesAttendance and Late PolicyPrinciples of Landscape Architectural Design and Graphics LA261Fall 2006 4 credits SYLLABUS Prof. James LaGro, Jr., Ph.D., M.L.A. Department of Urban and Regional Planning 110 Music Hall (Bascom Mall, next to the Law School) 263-6507; [email protected] hours: 10:30-12:30 pm, Mondays, and by appointment (set up by email) Jay Leasa, Teaching Assistant [email protected]; Office hours: TBA Course Time & Room Lecture: 12:05 Wednesday (150 Russell Lab) Studio: 1:20-4:15 Wednesday & Friday (25 Agriculture Hall) Course Overview Knowledge, skills, and values are important in this course. Throughout the semester, we will focus on sustainable and context-sensitive approaches to site planning and design. The site planning process, site planning and design theory, and graphic communication are the major themes of this course.  The site planning and design process is a tightly linked sequence of problem-solving activities. The site inventory and analysis phases, for example, identify and document project constraints (and opportunities) on the site and within the area surrounding the site. A critical part of the site planning process is to understand each project’s major design determinants.  Design theory is a set of normative principles that guides site planning and design decisions. This knowledge base continues to evolve, in part, from analyses of historic and contemporary built environments (e.g., precedent studies), and from research in urban planning, urban horticulture, applied ecology, environmental engineering, and other allied fields.  Graphic communication is a vital component of each phase of the design process. This course will help you develop and further refine your graphic communication skills. Learning Goals “The paradox of learning a really new competence is this: that a student cannot at first understand what he needs to learn, can learn it only by educating himself, and can educate himself only by beginning to do what he does not yet understand.” Source: p.93, Donald Schon, Educating the Reflective Practitioner (1987). The reading, lectures, and projects in this course are chosen to help you gain proficiency in: # analyzing site opportunities and constraints for different project programs;# applying design theory (i.e., principles) to the solution of land planning and site design challenges;  utilizing precedents to inform land planning and design decisions that create sites, neighborhoods, and communities that are pedestrian-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and express a strong sense of place; # conveying - graphically, orally, and in writing - essential information about a site, its context, and its potential uses. Critiques Desk critiques provide opportunities for individual consultation. The amount of help you receive in desk critiques depends heavily on your willingness to ask for help. Desk critiques and preliminary critiques allow you to explore alternative design solutions, and yet still have time to revise your work before the project’s final deadline. It is very important, therefore, that you graphically communicate your ideas in a clear and organized way. Most of the studio projects will include at least one class preliminary or final class critique. Grading Grades in this course will be based on one exam, several studio projects, and weekly class participation. Exam 15% Projects 75% Studio participation 10% 100% Attendance and Late Policy Attendance at every critique - preliminary and final - is mandatory. Failure to present your work at a critique will result in a deduction of up to 10% of your final course grade. Assignments turned in late will be penalized for each day they are late. Sickness and other legitimate reasons for missing a critique or submitting a late assignment will, of course, be honored. Please let me know, in advance, about an expected absence. Required Reading This course has two required texts and one required reading compendium: Bertauski, Tony. 2006. Plan Graphics for the Landscape Designer, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 231 pp. ($34.80 new) Reid, Grant. 1993. From Concept to Form in Landscape Design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 162 pp. ($32.97 new) LA261 Reader. 2006. A compendium of selected articles and book chapters. Both books are available at the University Book Store, the Underground Textbook Exchange, and online (e.g., Amazon.com). The LA261 Reader is available at the Law School Copy Center (2nd floor) on Bascom Mall. Reading assignments should be completed before the Wednesday lecture of the week they are assigned. The exam will draw from the lectures and the assigned reading. Other Resources Landscape Architecture, Planning, Progressive Architecture, and several other professional magazines and journals are available in the campus Libraries (primarily Steenbock). The American Society of Landscape Architects <www.asla.org>, the American Institute of Architects <www.aia.org>, and the American Planning Association (www.planning.org) alsohave extensive web sites with interesting articles and information about jobs and conferences. LECTURE & READING SCHEDULE Week Date Lecture Topic Reading Assignments 1 9/6 Course Overview 2 9/13 Site Planning Process LaGro (3-16) Lawson (112-126) Reid (ix, 1-11) Bertauski (1-15) 3 9/20 Smart Growth, Urban Design Barnett (17-47) & New Urbanism Bertauski (46-71) 4 9/27 Spatial Organization & Reid (82-94, 103-107, 115-126) Articulation Booth (127-152) Bertauski (72-121) 5 10/4 Shaping Outdoor Space Reid (12-81) Bacon (15-18) Jacobs (270-292) Bertauski (122-149) 6 10/11 Site Grading, Utilities & Russ (211-241) Sustainable Stormwater Strom et al. (11-44, 57-85) Management 7 10/18 Vehicle Circulation & Parking Russ (pp.157-209) Bertauski (150-203) 8 10/25 Pedestrian & Bicycle Circulation Nelessen (153-166) Russ (pp.91-102, 151-155) Bertauski (204-230) 9 11/1 Planting Design Mayer (103-106) Hannebaum (144-168)