Ecology, Plants and Technology II
GSD 6107, Lecture, Spring 2009
with Paula Meijerink

As the continuation of GSD 6106, this is the second in the core sequence of Ecology, Plants and Technology courses. The first module investigates plants as an essential medium of landscape design. Through lectures, readings, exercises, and field trips, the student builds a knowledge base of plants in design applications, principally in the northeastern United States. Emphasis is placed on critical practices of analysis, conceptualization, design, and implementation required to build and sustain healthy, meaningful landscapes. The second module of the course reviews techniques and codes for grading such landscape interventions as terraces, stairs, ramps, walls, and landscape on structure. Special emphasis is given to the understanding of site context to formulate sustainable grading and drainage techniques. Parallel discussions range from the ethics of earthwork to the iconography of structures such as stairs and walls. The course finishes with a study of landscape materials, their properties, manufacture, and applications.