University of Washington

Landscape Architecture 433/498a

Design Integration for Sustainable Landscape Construction

Winter 2005

Assistant Professor Nancy Rottle
      Phone 543-7897
      e-mail nrottle@u.washington.edu
      Office hours: Wednesday 10:00 am - 12:00 per sign up sheet
Lecturer Nhon Truong
      e-mail ninrock@yahoo.com
      Office hours: By appointment
Teaching Assistant Dottie Faris
      e-mail dfaris@u.washington.edu

The first rule of tinkerers is to keep all of the pieces. – Aldo Leopold

Students will:

• integrate design and technical skills to create a large-scale project through design development

• develop understanding and skills for creating projects that are ecological from design through construction and beyond

• build technical skills in grading, drainage, and elementary water engineering

• learn conventions for producing construction documents for large-scale, bidded projects, and related methods and materials

• advance CADD and graphic communication skills

• learn planting strategies, species and selection considerations for ecological restoration

• understand traditional project implementation processes and the landscape architect's role in successful project construction

The core goals of this course are to give the student understanding of essential considerations for designing an ecologically-regenerative landscape, and the skills required to implement such a project, from developing a design concept through the production of documents for bidding and construction. These skills and tools will enable you to create design and construction documents leading to built projects that realize your design intent and which are environmentally regenerative. Before machine meets earth, proposed changes need to be thoroughly explored on paper, and the details of the desired results need to be communicated thoroughly and uncompromisingly. While taught within the timeframe of a studio, this course differs from the traditional studio in the depth of content presented, integration of multiple design considerations, and its emphasis on technical issues and communication.

Primary objectives of ecological and sustainable design are to protect aquatic habitats and organisims and to foster regeneration of our aquatic systems. While decisions made in the design phase constitute a first step, unless our designs are successfully realized they make no actual contribution to ecological integrity. Indeed, the process and results of construction can unwittingly cause severe degradation of downstream water bodies. Fortunately, projects insightfully conceived and properly carried through can significantly regenerate the parts needed to re-establish healthy, interconnected ecological systems.

Our focus this term will be on earth-manipulation, with an emphasis on the use of earthform, water and plants to create habitat and lessen the impacts of urbanization on healthy ecosystems. Water is the material connector between landscapes; too much or too little can have disastrous effects, and conversely, it is a powerful and usually essential habitat component. Familiarity with these effects and opportunities will provide a critical biological foundation for developing our designs and mitigating the negative environmental effects of constructed projects. Skill with grading and drainage is key to creating landforms that anticipate and control the movement and collection of water; we will build upon skills learned in LArch331, and apply them to the manipulation of landforms to create wetlands for stormwater treatment and habitat. In addition, we will become familiar with native plant communities and practice using them in a restoration context.

The course content is partially driven by our project, Magnuson Park Wetlands, and the approach that the designers and their consultants have taken in the schematic design phase. At the heart of our objectives is the value of good design for human use, factoring in function, aesthetics, and meaning, as well as the necessity of creating regenerative places that contribute to ecological integrity. In addition to informal recreational use, the wetland will be used as an educational venue, accommodating the Magnuson Outdoor Learning Laboratory (MOLL), an inquiry-based field science and service-learning program for local middle school students.

Our design work on stormwater and wetlands will be concentrated in the first half of the term, with a mid-term review of your team's overall concept and schematic design and grading for a selected portion of Magnuson Park . The first part of the term will also feature a series of mini-exercises to review and practice grading skills. We will take at least one field trip to look at reference and constructed wetlands. Development of a native planting palette will be integrated into the schematic phase.

The second half of the term will focus on knowledge and skills required to put together a good construction document (CD) set, with a philosophical overlay of taking a thorough, thoughtful, and sustainable approach. The final product will be a construction document set for a limited portion of the site, including hardscape, planting and at least one wetland, submitted at full and 11" x 17" sizes. The CD sets will be executed in teams of two.

Digital files of your schematic design drawings and CD set are required. Per department policy, please include at least one drawing that records your design process as well.

You will also complete a construction case study or a green technology research project during the term and present it to the class. The case study will be of a site under construction or recently completed, for which you periodically record your observations and interview designers and/or project managers. You will receive a suggested list of proximate sites. Alternatively, you may select to conduct research on a selected green technology topic, documenting approaches and materials used in design and construction of the sustainable landscape. The case studies and green technology projects will be prepared so that digital versions can be added to our Green Technology web site: http://online.caup.washington.edu/courses/larc433

You are expected to be in class, working on 433 course work, each scheduled meeting time from 1:30 to 5:20 . In general, our class time will be structured with lectures and guest presentations from 1:30 to 2:45 ; exercises and discussions from 2:45 - 4:00 , and work time from 4:00-5:20 . We will occasionally go over the time-frame when on field trips.

Readings will be assigned to complement the lectures and project development.

Required text for the course is:

      Sustainable Landscape Construction -Thompson and Sorvig

This text is available in the Textbook section at University Bookstore. Other HIGHLY recommended texts are:

      Wetland Design - Robert France
      Site Engineering for Landscape Architects - Strom, Nathan and Woland (new ed. 2005)
      Wetland Plants of Oregon and Washington – B. Jennifer Guard
      Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast – Pojar and MacKinnon
      Landscape Ecology Principles In Landscape Architecture - Dramstadt et al

A limited number of copies of these references have been ordered for the course at the University Bookstore. These and a number of other references have been placed on Reserve in the CAUP library. Assigned readings are indicated in the syllabus, and will be drawn from to formulate questions for the final take-home quiz, in addition to questions from the lectures. Additional readings may be assigned over the course of the term.

Grades will be assigned based upon criteria developed and approved by department faculty. In general, projects will be evaluated on three basic criteria: functional/technical soundness, clarity of communication, and aesthetic design quality. Your final grade will be based upon the following:

Projects need to be handed in on time unless illness or family situations unexpectedly arise. Late projects will be penalized 5% of total available grade per day late. Projects will not be accepted after 5 late days.