Course Description SUMMER CHALLENGE 2018 NEXT CITY A Instructors: Nicky Bloom, MLA, and Fatema Maswood Instructor Email: bloomn@uw.com Architecture Building 020/030 Join Next City as we become more careful and critical observers, uncovering hidden stories in the landscape around us. Together we will observe through drawings, diagram how people and nature interact, and use what we learn to imagine future cities! We ll use Seattle as our outdoor classroom to learn about landscape architecture, urban design, habitat restoration, and other fields that impact our city. We will take field trips, use our senses, explore the UW campus and larger Seattle area, learn about buildings that act like trees, animals that thrive in the city, bustling social spaces built on top of toxic waste sites, and more as we imagine, design, build, and celebrate our own NEXT CITY! Throughout the program we will: Head out into the UW campus and Seattle to sketch from real life Spend time in the computer lab learning digital tools Enjoy the outdoors each day (It s summer!) Play games and get to know each other as a group Essential Questions How can we learn to read the urban landscape? What clues can we uncover to understand the processes that shaped the hills, lakes, mountains, and city around us? How can we use those observation skills to better understand cities and how they evolve? What is design thinking and how can we use it to come up with creative solutions? Learning Outcomes Students will expand their understanding of: Seattle s natural history Collaborative design thinking Types of drawing/media used to analyze and communicate about cities and land Roles of landscape architects, urban planners, architects, and other related professionals Students will develop skills for: Asking good questions + iterating solutions Observing + recording Sketching + diagramming Design thinking + collaborating Discussing + giving/receiving constructive feedback
Instructional Strategies Next City A Syllabus 2 This course relies on students immersing themselves in hands-on, experiential education in the greater outdoor classroom that is Seattle. Students will have solo writing and drawing time, small-group projects and peer reviews, and large-group collaborative design experiences. Student Assessment There will be many small projects along the way, but the primary physical product will be models and diagrams of our designs for the Next City. In addition to many other skills, students will leave the class with a deeper understanding of the built world, an expanded ability to ask thoughtful questions about their environment, and a broadened worldview to develop creative solutions. Students will understand that the built world is complex, diverse, and linked to the sustainability of our planet and the health and livability of our communities. Students will receive feedback on their individual observations and sketchbook recordings as well as on how they work in teams on collaborative design projects. Resources and Materials Throughout the program we will keep sketchbooks to record and share observations. We will use many tools used by design students and professionals early on in the design process: trace paper, pencils, pens, making supplies (wood, cardboard, tape, paint, glue), rulers, and calculators, to name a few. During the first week, we ask students to look around their house for materials that could be used to build models (straws, newspapers, magazines, etc). We will develop our own warehouse of supplies. Feel free to start collecting these now. Please be sure to only collect nonfood containers to help out fellow students with food allergies. Please bring the following each day: Sketchbook/journal Drawing pen/pencil Water bottle Sunscreen Backpack Camera, if possible (not required!) Week-by-Week Course Breakdown July 9-13 Week 1 READING THE LANDSCAPE We will begin by learning about what landscape architecture is, and what skills landscape architects and other urban designers use to understand their environments. We will use the University of Washington campus, learn about uses of plants, and visit Gasworks Park to understand how parks and public spaces create layered solutions to problems in our cities. Throughout, we will practice thoughtful sketchbook drawings to record our experiences. We will think about the parts of a city (industrial, commercial, residential, etc.), what people need to survive happily, and compare visions of the past, present, and future. Field Trips Union Bay Nature Area, UW Medicinal Herb Garden, Gasworks Park
July 16-20 Week 2 UNDERSTANDING URBAN + LIVING SYSTEMS Next City A Syllabus 3 We will begin to learn how designers share ideas through drawing, learning both hand drawing and computer drawing skills. We will create diagrams and build models to better our understanding of city systems, researching environmental damage and imagining proposed solutions. Following our exploration of the ever-changing city, we will visit Bullitt Center - one of the most sustainable buildings on the planet. We will learn about forward-thinking environmental systems at work, as we begin to create our own Next City. In Week Two, we will think about what systems work together for cities to become better habitats for people. We will think about mobility, water, energy, and other topics that are invisible backdrops to our daily lives. Field Trip Bullitt Center tour We will explore humans impact on regional landscapes. How can landfills, factories, and other areas be reused to make habitat for humans and other species? Field Trip Montlake Cut and/or Yesler Swamp Restoration July 23-27 Week 3 IMAGINING CHANGE + CONSTRUCTING MODELS In the final week, students will take matters into their own hands and model their ideal future adaptations of a physical site. We will visit our site, learn how to do site analysis and consider how our changes will change life for all kinds of creatures. They will use the observational and representational skills gained during the program to arrive at collaborative final designs to present to families on our final day. Field Trip Olympic Sculpture Park + Seattle waterfront Tentative Course Schedule Date Topic(s) In-Class Activities Monday, What is Landscape Architecture? Explore UW Campus July 9 Why is it important? (Drumheller Fountain, Rainier Vista, Quad) Card walk/scavenger hunt What do you see? (Part 1) July 10 What are the skills landscape architects use? (ie. reading a landscape, interdisciplinary work?) Reading Water Walk to Union Bay Nature Area Scavenger Hunt for Evidence of Water (dry spots, drains, puddles, leaks, stormwater) Learn about botanist loupes and observation
Next City A Syllabus 4 July 11 July 12 July 13 Monday, July 16 July 17 July 18 July 19 July 20 Reading Plants: What can we learn from plants? What are some issues landscape architecture helps solve? (urban ecology, stormwater, public health, beauty) Reflection and Intro to Collaborative Feedback Introduction to Representation + Urban Systems Mobility Day + Field Trip to Bullitt Center Introduction to Diagramming + Modeling Systems Understanding plant uses (traditional/medicinal, artistic, ecological, habitat) Visit UW Medicinal Herb Garden Visit Burke Museum ethnobotanical garden Identify large conifers on campus, significance in PNW Find Sit Spots Field trip to Gasworks Park Background on site history, soil and water remediation, public space, thick context What do you see: Part 2 Sketchbook Gallery Walk + Presentations Feedback 2D Representation: Reading and Drawing Plans, Sections, Elevations, Perspectives Computer Lab: Introduction to Photoshop + Using Google Earth Tour Bullitt Center Walk to Seven Hills Park, visit P- Patch Mobility mapping exercise Prepare for sustainable systems exercise Introduction to diagramming Diagram systems from the Bullitt Center (compost, water, transit, energy) 3D concept modeling exercise Mars Colony Collaboration Collaborate with students in To The Moon to design a colony for Mars Week 2 Review and Reflection AM card walk Summary and synthesis of the week s lessons Review + Reflection: Share design work from the week
Next City A Syllabus 5 Monday, July 23 July 24 July 25 July 26 July 27 Site Analysis with Design in Mind Site visit How do you analyze a site using the skills you ve learned? Measuring and sketching on site, observing connections and edges, mapping Field Trip: Olympic Sculpture Park Visit Vivarium and waterfront Site history, industry, sculptures Scavenger hunt Guest discussion Design + Model Physical and digital modeling Video Editing Photo Slideshow Design + Model SketchUp/Presentation Prep Preparation + Final Presentation Present models and final class designs to parents Photo slideshow, process documents, and class video