LA 6900 - Methods of Landscape Architectural Inquiry

(CU-SBY)

Fall. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Enrollment limited to: graduate students.

M. Goula.

This course provides to students an introduction to research methods, especially those related to the field of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design. It builds on the theoretical foundations provided in LA5900 and reinforces the students understanding of how landscape research and analysis is carried out. The seminar proposes to learn about the most prominent methods of landscape research by “exposing” them to one of the most fragile, dynamic and desired landscapes at today’s world: the coast. Moreover, understanding the coast as a landscape of desire and conflict will help students to critically engage with what we think as an “objective research methodology”. The course will engage with concrete sites, preferably at the coast of the United States, where present and future habitation as well as tourism (leisure) patterns are antagonic to climate change scenarios.

Outcome 1: Introduce students to different research methods and critically engage with the assessment of their intrinsic capacity for providing knowledge.

Outcome 2: Students will learn on coastal dynamics and by the means of their own research they will become able to assess different solutions that respond to climate change scenarios.

Outcome 3: Students will get introduced to the history of coastal tourism, the geographies and economies of tourism and they will become familiar with specific terminology employed by the tourist sector.

Outcome 4: Students will learn about site specific coastal designs that are innovating the fields of tourism, coastal management and Landscape Architecture.

Outcome 5: Students will improve their representation techniques by employing software they already know (GIS, Rino, Illustrator, etc.) as well as learning video software and montage techniques to apply their inquiry.