Landscape Architecture Design Research Articles

Landscape Design for Flood Adaptation from 20 Years of Constructed Ecologies in China

In highly urbanized floodplains, it is becoming widely accepted that a change is needed to move away from flood control towards flood adaptation paradigms. To address riverine and flash flooding in urban areas, urban and landscape designers have developed design solutions that are able to increase urban ecological resilience by allocating space to fluctuating water levels. With the purpose of operationalizing flood resilience, this study explores how constructed ecology principles are applied to the design of multifunctional landscapes to restore floodplain functions in urban areas and prevent downstream flooding. The study adopts a design-by-research approach to examine 30 case studies from the Sponge Cities initiative realized in China in the last twenty years and develops a toolbox of Flood Adaptation Types for stormwater management. The results are aimed at informing operations in the planning and design professions by proposing a schematic design framework for flood adaptation in different geographic conditions, scales, and climates. The study sets up the bases for a systematic assessment of flood adaptation responses also by facilitating communication between disciplines, designers, and non-experts. This will enable evidence-based decisions in landscape architecture and urban design, as well as fulfill pedagogic purposes in higher education and research.

Transformation of Green Areas in Central Squares after Revitalization: Evidence from Cittaslow Towns in Northeast Poland

In recent years, unfavorable changes in the development of city squares can be observed in Poland due to poorly conducted revitalization. These changes include, among others, the elimination of greenery or its significant reduction and the introduction of impervious surfaces to the places formerly designated by forms of greenery. This article highlights the need to redesign the central squares in small towns as part of their revitalization, including three levels of approach: functional, ecological, and aesthetic. The research aimed to analyze the degree of changes in the development of green areas in central squares due to the implementation of revitalization projects. Central squares in four selected towns of Cittaslow from the Warmia and Mazury region (northeastern Poland) were selected as the research area. The methods of comparative analysis were used, considering the comparison of functions, space, and composition, as well as the “research by design” method, which was adopted. A comparative analysis of changes in the arrangement of squares and analysis of changes in greenery structure was performed. The results showed that, in two examples, the changes related to removing greenery from the squares were not on a large scale due to the compensation with new forms. However, the vegetation was removed in two squares without introducing new forms or compensating for the greenery to a minimum extent. This allowed us to answer whether the structure and various forms submitted in the greenery projects in the squares, so-called landscape architecture objects, correspond to the current ecological design requirements. From the perspective of landscape architecture and ecological design, it was positive to introduce a diversified vegetation structure and supplement it with medium and tall forms, as evidenced by the development of the square in Biskupiec. However, the results also showed a negative aspect of the revitalization conducted by removing the greenery and replacing it with an impermeable surface, for example, in the square in Bartoszyce. The final stage was to propose general guidelines for revitalizing squares and design proposals considering introducing plant forms in the squares in the four analyzed towns.

Analysis of Problems and Countermeasures in Urban Landscape Architecture Design

Analysis of Problems and Countermeasures in Urban Landscape Architecture Design

Application of Regional Culture in Landscape Architecture Design under the Background of Data Fusion

With the rapid development of urban construction, the process of urban regeneration and new urban development is the process of fully integrating regional culture into garden design. From the current point of view, the landscape design of modern urban construction has become a problem that solves the necessity of thinking and detailed discussion. The purpose of this article is to study how to display the special signs of regional culture in the city and ultimately enable the symbiosis of regional culture and the surrounding environment. This article puts forward the importance of regional culture in landscape architectural design under the background of data fusion and how to let regional culture penetrate into landscape architectural design. Based on the algorithm of investigation method and data fusion, it can be learned from the research results of investigation method that human beings have never stopped exploring the regional culture. In today’s globalization, it highlights the characteristics of regional culture and advocates regional design and local culture. The combination of design is very necessary. In the experimental results of the data fusion algorithm, it can be known that when the evidence is the same, even if the weight adjustment is correct, the final conclusion is still close to the actual situation. It can be seen that, based on the data fusion algorithm, we can also know that regional cultural elements are becoming more and more important for landscape architectural design. In the experimental results of this article, in 2019, different age groups have the highest regional culture, which is as high as 38%, which is an increase of 12% over 2018. According to the data of the survey and research, it can be seen that the demand for regional culture for 15–30 years of age is between 30% and 50%, and the demand for regional culture for 50–75 years of age is between 53% and 70%. The demand for this age group is the highest. This shows that only by rationally using urban cultural resources, fully exploring the possibility of regionalization, and expanding the urban culture on the basis of the organic combination of the two can the regional cultural characteristics of the urban landscape be more and gradually clear. The spirit of the city is consolidated, thereby promoting the healthy development of the city. Only by digging the essence of regional culture can we create landscape design works with regional characteristics and significance.

Architectural and Landscape Garden Planning Integrated with Artificial Intelligence Parametric Analysis

Parametric design, driven by digital technology, has sparked extensive research and debate in the domains of architecture and urban planning, offering a new approach to issue solving. Architecture and landscape architecture, like architecture and urban planning, are disciplines that are part of the artificial environment. Architectural landscape design has begun to be influenced by parametric design. This study presents a more technical parametric design technique of architectural landscape design that involves artificial intelligence parametric analysis and proposes an architectural landscape planning and design method that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) parametric analysis. This is a new discipline of concurrent design that complements and expands architectural landscape design methodologies and is based on artificial intelligence methods. This study integrates artificial intelligence parametric design theory and methodology into architectural landscape design and presents a parametric method appropriate for landscape architecture design based on architectural landscape architecture characteristics.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND PREFERENCE TOWARDS OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING (ODL) DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CASE STUDY OF STUDIO-BASED LEARNING

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been widely known to the academic institutions as one of the methods in teaching and learning since COVID-19 pandemic hit nationwide on December 2019. Since then, many educational institutions have started to consider conducting the classes through online platforms such as Google Meet, Cisco WebEx, Microsoft Teams and others. Design-based studio is one of the design stream classes, which practically uses studio classes physically to develop many creative design ideas, skills, innovation, solution, and is considered as the real value of design studio education. However, the studio classes were switched to online platform, and teaching and learning strategy needed to be modified to deal with this issue, dramatically. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify the most effective delivery method in teaching and learning for current best in educational practices. 14 sets of questions in Google Form questionnaire were distributed on week 14 to the students of Landscape Architecture. A total of 261 students responded out of 394 students enrolled in the Landscape Architecture Design studio. The students were in Semester 2, 4 and 6. The students were selected based on the large number of student’s enrollment. The results showed that the students enjoyed learning using Whatsapp, Google Meet and Google Classroom as a synergistic medium for critic sessions. The research suggests three stages of tutorial sessions to suit the needs of the student’s preference.

Development of Landscape Architecture Design Students’ Pro-Environmental Awareness by Project-Based Learning

With a rapid pace of urbanization, urban environment problems have affected large numbers of people and aroused widespread concern. Landscape architecture design helps improve the welfare of urban residents and ecological function of urban green spaces. Course-based influence of college students majoring in landscape architecture is an efficient way to prepare future landscape architects with environmental awareness. This research applied project-based learning (PBL) and zone of proximal development (ZPD) in the landscape architecture design course, and developed the investigation–design–construction PBL modules of the course. The experimental group, 57 college juniors majoring in landscape architecture, received PBL education while learning the course. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was answered by the junior students and the control group, which comprised 60 senior students who received no PBL instruction while learning the same course in the third year. The results indicate that the PBL approach was well accepted by 90% of the experimental group, who were 17.37% more likely to employ pro-environmental design methods in their future work than the control group. It was also found that employing the PBL approach in the landscape architecture design course had a positive influence upon students’ pro-environmental values, knowledge and attitudes.

Talking about the Methods and Skills of Landscape Architecture Design

Talking about the Methods and Skills of Landscape Architecture Design

Sustained Change: Design Speculations on the Performance of Fallow-Scapes in Time along the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, (ECNHC), New York

The paper explores the potential for adaptive mitigation at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Falls, NY, USA, and surrounds, focusing on landscapes along the historic Erie Canal that inadvertently lowered the water table and shrunk adjacent wetlands. Now the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor (ECNHC), Montezuma, NY, USA, the canal, and surrounds lack a clear identity but have the potential to be repurposed as green infrastructure to support climate mitigation through the application of natural climate solutions, namely reforestation. Reforestation has been shown to produce the highest potential performance for carbon sequestration, along with a multitude of co-benefits. However, most studies assessing capacity for climate mitigation using nature-based approaches operate at a high level via remote data and do not test hypotheses at smaller scales that require groundtruthing data, parcel-by parcel approaches, and an understanding of landowner values. The initial research question is: can landscape architecture design research contribute to a higher performance of secondary forests and non-productive farmland (fallow lands) for carbon sequestration, while at the same time activating economic territories and improving their landscape qualities? Comparative cartographies are developed to assess secondary forests, including past and future projections. Fallow lands are examined through mapping at various scales, fieldwork, and informal interviews. We find that farmland along the canal has been abandoned over time due to conditions that make farming difficult, such as periodic flooding, ponding of water due to poorly drained soils, and steep drumlin slopes. These same conditions have contributed to a landscape armature—an assemblage of landscapes including the old canal, barge canal and associated heritage landscapes, abandoned farmlands, and existing forests and wetlands. Secondary forests already existing in the area are high performing in relation to carbon sequestration but may lack climate resilience due to threats such as the emerald ash borer (EAB). Design intervention can help support enhanced sequestration, resilience, and adaptation by introducing unique tree plantings in the form of groves and hedgerows. Sustainability is approached by integrating quantifiable performances of secondary forests with projections of spatial, ecological, and cultural values and the continuing monitoring and management of forests over time. The aim is to build a method to test these lands with designs for tree plantings that reveal their potential for increased carbon sequestration, habitat connectivity, and enriched landscape identity.

Analyze the usage of urban greenways through social media images and computer vision

Urban greenway is an emerging form of urban landscape offering multifaceted benefits to public health, economy, and ecology. However, the usage and user experiences of greenways are often challenging to measure because it is costly to survey such large areas. Based on the online postings from Instagram in 2017, this paper used Computer Vision (CV) technology to analyze and compare how the general public uses two typical greenway parks, The High Line in New York City and the Atlanta Beltline in Atlanta. Face and object detection analysis were conducted to infer user composition, activities, and key experiences. We presented the temporal patterns of Instagram postings as well as the group gatherings, smiling, and representative objects detected from photos. Our results have shown high user engagement levels for both parks while teens are significantly underrepresented. The High Line had more group activities and was more active during weekdays than the Atlanta Beltline. Stronger sense of escape and physical activities can be found in Atlanta Beltline. In summary, social media images like Instagram can provide strong empirical evidence for urban greenway usage when combined with artificial intelligence technologies, which can support the future practice of landscape architecture and urban design.

The Changing Nature of In-Between Spaces in the Transformation Process of Cities

In the <em>in-between </em>spaces of cities, there are many problems of various nature and scale: functional, spatial, economic, environmental, visual, and social. There are also some hidden potentials that can be activated. The aim of the article is to explore the possibilities of solving existing problems and to show the possibilities of using the potentials of <em>in-between </em>spaces with regard to the changing nature of a city. The article, of a discursive character, aims to answer the questions of whether connecting a city with public spaces can be a catalyst of changes, and what tools should be used to facilitate the flux of material factors (like goods or natural resources) and immaterial matter (e.g., ideas or cultural patterns). The new approach is based on the assumption that this would be most effective when using landscape architecture, green/blue infrastructure, artistic strategies, and universal design in public spaces. The expected result of the research is to show the purposefulness and possibilities in creating attractive and safe public areas of <em>in-between </em>spaces as an on-going micro- or macro-process of urban change on a wider scale. It was recognised that integrated actions combining the humanistic, ecological, and technical approaches could bring significant benefits to society, preventing existing problems, not only spatial and visual (changing the city directly), but above all social and environmental, having an impact on the functioning of the city from a much longer perspective. The results of the research show how the transformation process of public spaces may change the nature of the cities, improve the compactness of existing cities, and increase the quality of life. Selected case studies are presented to show the scale, scope, and benefits of possible actions.

Garden Landscape Design Method in Public Health Urban Planning Based on Big Data Analysis Technology.

Aiming at the goal of high-quality development of the landscape architecture industry, we should actively promote the development and integration of digital, networked, and intelligent technologies and promote the intelligent and diversified development of the landscape architecture industry. Due to the limitation of drawing design technology and construction method, the traditional landscape architecture construction cannot really understand the public demands, and the construction scheme also relies on the experience and subjective aesthetics of professionals, resulting in improper connection between design and construction. At present, under the guidance of the national strategy, under the background of the rapid development of digital technologies such as 5G, big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, and digital twins, the high integration of landscape architecture construction and digital technology has led to the transformation of the production mode of landscape architecture construction. Abundant professional data and convenient information processing platform enable landscape planners, designers, and builders to evaluate the whole life cycle of the project more scientifically and objectively and realize the digitalization of the whole process of investigation, analysis, design, construction, operation, and maintenance. For the landscape architecture industry, the significance of digital technology is not only to change the production tools but also to update the environmental awareness, design response, and construction methods, which makes the landscape architecture planning and design achieve the organic combination of qualitative and quantitative and also makes the landscape architecture discipline more scientific and rational. In this paper, the new method of combining grey relational degree with machine learning is used to provide new guidance for traditional landscape planning by using big data information in landscape design and has achieved very good results. The article analyzes the guidance of landscape architecture design under the big data in China and provides valuable reference for promoting the construction of landscape architecture in China.

A Framework for Urban Parks

Jessica Fernandez, Yang Song, Mary Padua and Pai Liu Dr. Jessica Fernandez is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia. Her research and teaching incorporate contemporary approaches to the creation and assessment of place through emerging applications such as big data and VR/AR. As a licensed landscape architect, she has over a decade of experience working on a variety of nationwide awardwinning projects. She owns ALPHA Design Studio, where she applies her teaching and research in the design and building industry. Dr. Yang Song is assistant professor of landscape architecture at Texas A & M University and works at the intersection of landscape architecture, community planning, and urban design. His teaching and research activities have a strong focus on the role of public placemaking to community health and resiliency. He has a long-standing interest in the application of digital technology in research and design, especially in the area of social media and the built environment. His research examines the usage of urban parks and streets through the engagement patterns depicted in Instagram, Tripadvisor, and Twitter. Dr. Mary Padua is a licensed landscape architect with decades of experience in the public and private sectors, including running her practice, MGP Studio ART DESIGN RESEARCH. Simultaneously, she is a design educator and professor at Clemson University, where she served four years as chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture. Her practice and research activities focus on human-centered outdoor restorative environments that also intersect with technology. She is internationally recognized as a thought leader, visual artist, and writer who has authored works on China’s vast urban experiment, sociocultural theory, and the meaning of place. Dr. Pai Liu is a lecturer at Dalian University of Technology who taught previously at the University of Oklahoma and Clemson University. Dr. Liu obtained her PhD in Planning, Design, and the Built Environment from Clemson University. Her primary research interests are in health care environments, with an emphasis on design for the aging. Her current research projects include comparing elder care environments in the United States and China, investigating the application of cultural design in health care environments, and developing analytical tools for behavior mapping.

Research on the application of regional culture in landscape design

Landscape architecture is the integration of material and spirit, and different areas present different landscapes. Its design process is affected by the regional economy, politics, human history, geographical environment and other factors, such as ignoring the actual regional cultural characteristics will make landscape architecture design meaningless. This paper mainly introduces the regional culture and the importance of integrating regional culture into landscape design and puts forward how to apply regional culture to landscape design to effectively enhance the form and connotation of landscape design.

The Spatial Form of Digital Nonlinear Landscape Architecture Design Based on Computer Big Data

Abstract Condensing the multi-dimensional digital model of green urban design, and constructing a digital method system of it progressively layer by layer. Based on this research background, the dissertation designs the spatial form of landscape architecture based on the data visualisation of nonlinear technology. The article uses the colour zoning method to design the actual scene of the garden landscape with nonlinear parameteriszation. The simulation result analyses that the proposed nonlinear algorithm has realised the efficiency improvement purpose of landscape architecture design.

Assessment, Recognition and the “Contact Zone” in Landscape Architecture: How Much Is “Enough”?

Extended Curriculum Programmes have a responsibility to validate the resources and experiences students bring to their learning environment. However, designing assessment practices that encourage diverse students to draw on their resources in order to both access and challenge disciplinary discourses can be complex. This article is framed in terms of how students balance their own experiential knowledge while engaging with the disciplinary discourse. It aims to interrogate students’ negotiation of the “contact zone” and how they negotiate their brought-along resources with assessment guidelines. A multimodal social semiotic approach is taken to explore ways of contributing to a socially just pedagogy by enabling recognition of a range of students’ resources, while at the same time acknowledging the need to access the conventions of the discipline. We argue for recognition as the positive side of assessment, which could enable more diverse students’ resources to be acknowledged. We interrogate the meaning-making trajectories of two students, Xola and Sonwabo, in a first-year landscape architecture course. While both students bring their own resources into a spatial model project, they each have varying “success” in mediating these in relation to the dominant conventions of landscape architectural design.

Analysis on the Path of Plant Landscape Planning and Design in Landscape Architecture

Analysis on the Path of Plant Landscape Planning and Design in Landscape Architecture

Discussion on the Application of Artistic Elements in Modern Landscape Architecture Design

Discussion on the Application of Artistic Elements in Modern Landscape Architecture Design

Rational Planning of Natural Factors in Landscape Architecture Design

Rational Planning of Natural Factors in Landscape Architecture Design

Analysis of the Influence of Landscape Elements on Landscape Architecture Design

Analysis of the Influence of Landscape Elements on Landscape Architecture Design