Undergraduate Course: Material Practices (ARCH08062)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Working with and understanding material use and their application to detail, technical design and construction through a range of scales is a significant component of the proposed Landscape Architecture MA (Hons) curriculum. This course acts as an introduction to material practices and asks you to examine these areas of practice, understand how they are utilised and to apply this knowledge in the design process. The course will focus on the potential of an existing site, the use of both hard and soft (planting) materials as well as topography, landform manipulation and contour design. |
| Course description |
A major component of the Landscape Architecture MA (Hons) programme is the ability to design across a range of scales in differing contexts in increasingly complex and self-directed design studios. A key aspect of this is being equipped with material and technical knowledge which increasingly directs your decision making as you move up through scales of design. This process mirrors professional practice where projects are developed from initial conceptual ideas, to resolution as built projects on the ground.
In this course you will be introduced to landscape architectural materials and their application as subject areas you should demonstrate a basic understanding of. The course takes as its starting point for exploration an existing site and the potential the existing materials found there, both hard and soft, have for design resolution. The course reflects current and emerging areas of landscape practice and therefore places a strong emphasis on topics such as sustainability, climate, resilience and biodiversity, alongside areas such as soil and water management, existing vegetation and natural resources as baseline materials to be considered prior to any hard or soft planting proposals or topographic manipulation.
You will engage with the course to build your knowledge and competency of the subject matter by attending lectures, taking part in directed fieldwork and via studio tutorials, alongside wider self-directed reading and observation. This knowledge will be compiled and curated in the first part of the semester via a Material Practices catalogue, which will cover subjects including the existing site conditions and your emerging knowledge of both hard and soft landscape materials. The catalogue will combine text and a wide-ranging use of illustrative material.
In the second part of the semester you will apply your knowledge of materials by developing a detail design proposal for an existing site which will demonstrate your design competence in working with a range of appropriate materials, both hard and soft, considering material composition, technical resolution and overall small scale design via appropriate graphic means.
This course will run on one day per week, encompassing a range of teaching activity. These activities will be delivered by Landscape Architecture staff, visiting professional landscape architects and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) staff. The first half of semester will focus on core course knowledge via approximately six-eight lectures and two fieldwork visits. Lectures will typically be one hour long and will take place at RBGE and at ECA. Fieldwork duration will be dependent on the site location but will range from half day to a full day. Fieldwork will utilise sites either in Edinburgh or in close proximity to Edinburgh.
Out with these scheduled activities, students will develop their coursework in their Lauriston studios. The second half of the course prioritises studio based directed and self-directed learning in the Landscape Architecture studios. Different contact combinations with staff will be utilised weekly from one to one; pairs and group. The time spent with your tutor will differ depending on which is scheduled each week, but our expectation is that students will spend the full day in studio to take advantage of peer based learning out with contact with tutors. Two full group reviews with staff will bookend each of these two course blocks.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Research, explore and identify a range of landscape architecture materials from an existing site and a range of proposed materials for the same site
- Apply appropriate hard and soft materials to a simple detail design in a given existing site context
- Communicate via graphic, written and verbal means, detailed design proposals for an existing site with reference to professional graphic conventions
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Reading List
Buxton, Pamela. Metric Handbook: Planning and Design Data (Routledge, 2021)
McLeod, Virginia. Detail in Contemporary Landscape Architecture (Architectural Press, 2012)
Rainer, Thomas and West, Claudia. Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes (Timber Press, 2015)
Wöhrle, Regine Ellen & Wöhrle, Hans-Jörg. Basics: Designing with Plants (Birkhauser, 2008)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry: Through course activities, including lectures, tutorials, site visits, fieldwork and further initiate independent research and enquiry, you will develop knowledge into relevant material practices and issues, alongside the evaluation of a range of existing site materials and proposed materials for a site
Personal and intellectual autonomy: You will develop reflective awareness of ethical dimensions, and responsibilities to others with emphasis on materiality issues related to society, sustainability, climate, resilience and biodiversity.
Planning, organising and time management: You will develop the ability to prioritise the appropriate use of project and time management, to plan and effectively deliver a set of course specific tasks.
Communication: You will be able to communicate material knowledge and application via a collated and curated materials catalogue and via detail design drawings with reference to professional graphic conventions |
| Keywords | Materiality,Technical Design,Detail,Construction |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Kenneth Fraser
Tel: (0131 6)51 5799
Email: |
Course secretary | |
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