TOWARD A DESIGN PROCESS A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Landscape Architecture in The School of Landscape Architecture by Joel Shay Aulie B.S., Texas Tech University, 1996 August 2002ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks are extended to my thesis chair, Ray Isaacs, and my committee members, Chris Theis and Max Conrad, for their guidance in the preparation of this paper. iiTABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………..........................................................ii LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………….iv ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...1 Methodology……………………………………………………………2 Author’s Design Process……....………………………………………..3 End Notes………………………..………………………………….…..7 2 DESIGN PROCESS………………………………………………….…...8 Endnotes.………………………..………………………………...…..14 3 DESIGNER’S PROCESSES……...……………………………………..15 Maya Lin………………………………………………………………15 Lawrence Halprin……………………………………………………...22 I.M. Pei……………………………………………………………...…26 End Notes..…………………………………………………………….31 4 EVOLVING PROCESS/CHANGES…………………………………...33 End Notes…..………………………………………………………….37 5 CAMPUS MEMORIAL DESIGN………………...……………………38 6 CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………...48 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………..…51 VITA………………………………………………………………………..……………52 iiiLIST OF FIGURES 1. Israel Project………………………………………………………………………4 2. Wave Field……………………………………………………………………….18 3. Vietnam Veterans Memorial……………………………………………………..19 4. The RSVP Cycles……………………………………………..………..….…….24 5. The Louvre……………………………………………………………………….28 6. The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center…………………………………....29 7. Elevation: The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center…………………….…..29 8. Campus Map……………………………………………………………………..39 9. Stone Rows………………………………………………………………………42 10. Campus Memorial Design, Plan View…………………………………………..43 11. Tower Dr. West Side of Site…………………………………………………….44 12. Ribbon Showing Orientation of Inscriptions…………………………………….44 13. Memorial Oak Grove; Poor View………………………………………………..46 14. Up-lighting of Oak Trees……………………………..………………………….46 ivABSTRACT This project presents an unconventional approach to an innovative design process. The thesis relates the challenges of adapting to the design studio environment. The author describes a personal journey into the design process, resulting from research and study of specific designers who have had high impact on the new creative approach to landscape design. The insight and knowledge gained from this search was instrumental in the evolutional process of design, incorporating a universal technique. The resultant process was then applied to a case study and evaluated for merit. The measure of a designer ultimately becomes the work he produces. vCHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Throughout the author’s graduate career the design process has been somewhat of an enigma. As crucial as the term ‘design process’ seems to be, little attention has been devoted to the subject. Louisiana State University’s curriculum, while heavily slanted toward design, offered little formal education pertaining to what design process is and how one goes about the process of design. I do not intend to say that students do not receive an elementary introduction to design process, they do. Prior to this investigation, the author understood the design process comprised site inventory and then an analysis of the inventory. Intuitively, the author believed more existed than experienced to date. This belief centered on the challenge of establishing a hierarchy of importance for the site inventory. How is one to know if existing vegetation imparts greater consideration than cultural influences? Pursuit of the design process as a possible answer to this question emerged. The understanding of design process is believed to be a viable avenue to command of one=s personal design processes. Once a better grasp of personal design process is obtained, one can endeavor to modify the processes involved. To better understand the process of design it would be beneficial to look at the processes of notable designers. While a designer’s process might prove enigmatic, a number of notable designers have written about the way they approach design. In this manner, the process of design commands a study of the presentations of notable designers. It is unnecessary for design students to imitate the processes of notable designers, slavishly copying these designs. Rather, should the designer’s processes be scrutinized, experimentation with those processes would present an effectual base forstudents to seek expression in a personal design process. However, it does not necessarily follow that a student must comprehend a personal process of design. Some designers instinctively design, unaware of the innate processes leading to successful