LAR 5304G Digital Landscape Representation I: Drawing, Cartography, and Notation
Th 7:00-10:00 PM
Spring 2014
National Capital Region Master of Landscape Architecture Program
Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Instructor: Rob Holmes
Contact: rholmes@m.ammoth.us
Website: http://m.ammoth.us/representation/
Description
This seminar aims to develop competencies in standard digital drawing programs utilized in the professional practice of landscape architecture, focusing on AutoCAD, Photoshop, and Illustrator, while using those digital programs to produce representations that draw on three root sets of practices that inform contemporary landscape architectural representation: drawing, cartography, notation.
To these ends, we will study exemplary examples of landscape representation, learn specific techniques for digital representation, read a variety of short texts dealing with landscape and representation, and, most importantly, produce and critique drawings.
Course Objectives
1. Develop competency in basic digital drawing programs relevant to landscape architecture, specifically AutoCAD, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
2. Develop competency in the use and understanding of drawing conventions shared by the architectural design disciplines, specifically plan, section-elevation, and perspective.
3. Explore additional representational practices relevant to landscape architecture, specifically cartography and notation. Here, cartography is defined as the set of practices useful for representing large-scale territories, while notation is defined as the set of practices useful for representing landscape change, particularly over time and through space, utilizing static representations.
4. Develop the capacity to think critically and self-reflectively about representation both as a component of the design process and as a privileged mode of discourse within the field of landscape architecture. This course will therefore emphasize not merely how to represent landscape digitally, but also why, where, and when various techniques and conventions are appropriate and inappropriate.
Format
Class meetings will split time between instructional skills workshops, supervised work sessions, lectures, discussions, and critiques.
Assignments
The primary assignments for this course will be five drawings, spread across the breadth of the semester. These drawings are divided between the three segments of the course: drawing, cartography, and notation. For all five drawings, we will work with selected landscapes in the Mississippi River Delta.
Assignment 1: Plan
Assignment 2: Section-Elevation
Assignment 3: Perspective
Assignment 4: Cartography
Assignment 5: Notation
Text
The assigned text for this course is Bradley Cantrell and Wes Michaels’ Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture (John Wiley & Sons: 2010). This text is an introductory text which provides an overview of basic competencies in digital landscape drawing.
Additional readings shown on the syllabus will be disseminated to the class in PDF format or, in the case of online readings, can be found directly on the internet.
Readings
A mixture of skills-based and theoretical readings will be assigned during the semester. The skills-based readings will primarily be from the required textbook, Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture. Where skills-based readings are assigned, students are expected to complete the exercises described in the readings prior to class. To help clarify which readings contain exercises to be completed, these readings are listed as “exercises” on the schedule. (Readings without exercises to be completed are simply listed as “readings”.)
Digital Structure
At the end of each assignment, all due work should be uploaded to the course Dropbox before presentation. No grades will be assigned to work that has not been uploaded. An appropriate folder will be provided within the Dropbox. Files should be named using the following convention: “DLR-I_[assignment number]_[last name]”. For instance, if I turned in assignment 1, it would be labeled “DLR-I_1_Holmes.pdf”. Files not properly named will be treated as late work and evaluated accordingly.
Grading
15% ASSIGNMENT 1
15% ASSIGNMENT 2
15% ASSIGNMENT 3
10% MIDTERM CRITIQUE
15% ASSIGNMENT 4
15% ASSIGNMENT 5
10% FINAL CRITIQUE
05% CLASS PARTICIPATION
Grades will be awarded using the following letter scale:
A exceeds expectations in every way, with distinguished mastery of material
B consistent and strong work that meets requirements and evidences moments of exceptional development with good mastery of material
C satisfactory work, meets basic requirements with basic mastery of material
D unsatisfactory work. does not meet all requirements
F failing or incomplete
Late Work
Assignments not completed on time will receive a grade penalty, varying in relation to the lateness of the work.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory for the scheduled duration of each class session. Arriving late or leaving early, unless authorized by the instructor, will be considered an unexcused absence. Every unexcused absence will result in a grade penalty.
Computers
The use of computers to participate in class is obviously required; the use of computers to avoid participating in class is unacceptable and will result in a grade penalty.
Backups
Students are responsible for maintaining backups of their work. It is recommended that you spread your backups across at least two devices (for instance: a local hard drive on your personal computer and some kind of removable media like an external hard drive or flash drive). Storing information permanently on a flash drive is not recommended; flash drives are intended for information transfer and are easy both to physically damage and physically misplace.
As part of learning to work responsibly with digital media is implementing proper backup procedures, loss of digital files will not be treated as an acceptable excuse for late work.
Academic Conduct
Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the ruleset described in the Virginia Tech code of student conduct.
Course Registration
CRN 17397 LAR 5304G ADV Topics in Landscape Arch (I)
Schedule
A: DRAWING
01 M 1.20 MLK Day (no classes)
T 1.21 Classes Begin
Th 1.23 Base Plan
Receive: Assignment 1: Plan
Lecture(s): Introduction to Digital Landscape Representation; Hybrid Plans
02 Th 1.30 Conversion
Exercises: Basic AutoCAD drawing exercises.
Readings: Cantrell and Michaels – Ch. 1-6
Relevant Tutorials:
AutoCAD Paper Space http://lab.visual-logic.com/2012/02/autocad-paperspace/
03 Th 2.6 Linework
Exercises: Cantrell and Michaels – Ch. 10 “Setting up an Illustrator Drawing”, 11 “Linework in Illustrator”, 12 “Custom Linework”, 13 “Symbols”, 14 “Text, Leaders, and Page Layout”
Relevant Tutorials:
Illustrator Drawing Setup from AutoCAD Linework http://lab.visual-logic.com/2012/02/illustrator-drawing-setup-from-acad-linework/
Creating a Diagram in Adobe Illustrator Based on an Underlying Image http://lab.visual-logic.com/2012/02/la-1102-mini-assignment-01/
Due:
+ Produce scaled aerial using ArcGIS or tiling in Photoshop
+ Overlay and align landscape object on aerial in Photoshop.
+ Place aerial and landscape object at scale in AutoCAD.
+ Trace linework in AutoCAD (landscape object, treelines, hydrology, structures, major infrastructures)
04 Th 2.13 Snow Day
05 Th 2.20 Detail Plan
Receive: Assignment 02: Section-Elevation
Lecture: Composition
Readings: Timothy Samara, “Grid Basics” (Making and Breaking the Grid, 22-39); Ellen Lupton, “Figure/Ground” (Graphic Design: The New Basics, 85-90)
Exercises: Cantrell and Michaels, Ch. 16 “Introduction to Renderings”, 18 “Applying Color to a Plan Rendering”, 19 “Shading Techniques”, 20 “Creating Textures”, 22 “Plan Symbols with Smart Objects”, 23 “Managing Large Photoshop Files”
06 Th 2.27 Detail Plan 2
Due:
+ Labeled detail plan in Illustrator.
07 Th 3.6 Section-Elevation
Thesis Mid-terms
Lecture: Z-Axis: Section, Elevation, and Perspective
Readings: Stephanie Carlisle and Nicholas Pevzner, “The Performative Ground: Rediscovering the Deep Section”, Scenario Journal 02: Performance; Katie Kingery-Page and Howard Hahn, “The Aesthetics of Digital Representation”, JoLA (PDF in shared server folder)
Exercises: Cantrell and Michaels, Ch. 8 “Source Imagery/Entourage”, 24 “Creating a Section-Elevation”
Due:
+ Linework for a section-elevation produced in AutoCAD and exported to Illustrator for refinement.
xx 3.8-3.16 Spring Break
08 Th 3.20 Perspective No Class Meeting
Studio Mid-terms
Receive: Assignment 03: Perspective
Exercises: Cantrell and Michaels, Ch. 25 “Perspective Illustration”, 26 “Creating a Base for a Perspective Drawing”, 27 “Atmospheric Perspective”, 29 “Create a Photoshop Perspective Collage”
Readings: Chip Sullivan, “Freehand Perspective Drawing”, Drawing the Landscape, 194-223; Paul Stevenson Oles, “Composition Planning”, Architectural Illustration, 56-71
Optional Readings: Ching, “Perspective”, Architectural Graphics (44-70); Ching, “Depth”, Drawing (91-136)
Relevant Tutorials: Perspective Textures http://lab.visual-logic.com/2012/05/adobe-photoshop-perspective-textures/
Due:
+ Finished illustrative section-elevation.
+ Draft perspective.
09 Th 3.27 CRITIQUE
Due:
+ Assignments 01, 02, and 03 should complete and printed for review.
B: CARTOGRAPHY
10 Th 4.3 Cartography I
Receive: Assignment 04: Cartography
Readings: Corner, “The Agency of Mapping”, Mappings (ed. Cosgrove); Krygier and Woods, Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS, Ch. 5 “Geographic Framework”, Ch. 7 “The Inner Workings of Map Design”, and Ch. 9 “Map Symbolization”
Optional Readings: Krygier and Woods, Making Maps, Ch. 3 “Mappable Data”
Relevant Links: “Plan Topography”, DRLPO
11 Th 4.10 Cartography II
Readings: Mattern, “Critiquing Maps II”, Words in Space; McHarg, “The River Basin”, Design with Nature
Due:
+ Draft of Assignment 04.
C: NOTATION
12 Th 4.17 Notation I
Receive: Assignment 05: Notation
Lecture: Notation and Landscape
Readings: Tufte, “Escaping Flatland”, Envisioning Information; Czerniak, “Challenging the Pictorial”, Assemblage
Due:
+ Assignment 04.
13 Th 4.24 Notation II
Readings: Halprin, RSVP Cycles
Due:
+ Draft of Assignment 05.
14 Th 5.1 FINAL CRITIQUE
Due:
+ Print and display for critique Assignments 01-05.
5.5- Studio Finals
5.12- Thesis Finals
XX Tu 5.13 FINAL REVISIONS DUE