Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Develop and apply form and spatial composition in design development to create a final landscape design plan.
• Specify appropriate hardscapes, materials, and lighting in landscape design.
• Follow the design process to solve design challenges.
• Specify design solutions that fit the architectural style and themes of the site.

The Instructor prepares hands-on labs before class (e.g. finding a project site and client, preparing design and drafting exercises). During the lab period, the Instructor teaches landscape design and drafting skills through active demonstrations in real time. Students then work on and complete design projects (e.g. bubble diagrams, form compositions, concept plans, planting plans) with the Instructor's guidance and receive verbal feedback and critique as they work. The designs are submitted and the Instructor evaluates the work outside of class time - providing a score and written feedback on technical accuracy, design skill and professionalism.

Class evaluations will be based on the following:

1. a research paper
2. graphic and oral design projects
3. a comprehensive design project over the term

1. Understand how historical culture, societal attitudes, art and design approaches (styles) evolved and how they effect localized landscape designs today
2. Use traditional, "high-tech" and personal research methods to gather data
3. Apply a critical thinking path using analysis, synthesis and formulation to landscape design process
4. Apply societal, psychological, and physiological requirements in the development and definition of landscape spaces.
5. Apply basic principles of art in the design of landscape spaces
6. Express concepts and ideas in oral, written and graphic formats
7. Visualization of landscapes as three dimensional, interactive, and evolving entities

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:
 

1. Use available research methods and materials to gather data and evaluations of historical landscape traditions and local/regional landscapes.
2. Write a research paper on a local or regional landscape evaluating the landscape "style", the historical background of that style, evaluation of how well that style was incorporated into a Northwest Landscape/Garden and provide proper documentation of research sources.
3. Recognize the influence of historical and regional "landscape styles" on existing local designs and be able to reflect those in the student's design work.
4. Perform site measurement and information gathering necessary for supporting design concepts and ideas.
5. Prepare a graphic scaled site plan
6. Define the client(s) who design work is being performed for.
7. Collect data on client's preferences in design style, materials, and desires for landscape use.
8. Analyze and synthesize site and client data to create a conceptual plan for use areas and circulation patterns in the landscape and to study the impact of the site analysis.
9. Use the basic principles of art to develop the lines, size and proportion of spaces and criteria for the selection of materials for the design.
10. Graphically layout a preliminary design for evaluation in meeting the dictates of the site and the desires of the client.
11. Utilizing a knowledge of plant material and hardscape materials select final materials for a design project.
12. Draft a final landscape planting plan that is professional in appearance and that can be utilized by the client or contractor to obtain materials and execute the design
13. Orally present the concepts and ideas developed to a client or group.
14. Explain the order of implementation of a design that would be recommended.
15. Evaluate landscape designs as to how well they met the requirements of the site, the desires of the client(s) and the design criteria used.