From Reality to Virtuality and Back Again - Teaching Experience within a Postgraduate Study Program in Landscape Architecture

摘要

The central theme of this paper is to illustrate new didactic concepts for implementing visualization techniques within a one-year postgraduate program (MAS LA). Within the broad categorization of visualization in the thematic of Landscape Architecture, we are principally interested in the envisioning and development of landscape design concepts. Given the breadth of possible visualization techniques and applications, the postgraduate students are encouraged to both learn specific workflows and actively propose alternative methods of working and visualizing space. It is not our goal to train specialists in CAD software but rather give the students an overview of current information technologies relevant to their field. The paper reports on concrete examples of the use of information technologies in teaching and their related potentials as well as challenges. If one asks leading Swiss landscape architecture offices about the visualization skills of university graduates, the answer may be anywhere from sobering to alarming. Based on the current poor state of the educational system for landscape architects within Switzerland, most graduates are not able to represent large-scale landscape architecture projects in a convincing manner. Since the term landscape architect is not protected in Switzerland and there are no masters-level programs, the need for action is acute. The general focus of the Master of Advanced Studies in Landscape Architecture (MAS LA) of Professor Girot's Chair of Landscape Architecture at ETH Zurich is the integration of cutting-edge modeling and visualization technologies as design tools within the field of large-scale landscape architecture. The concept presented here is directed towards bringing graduates of planning disciplines as well as people with extensive professional experience up to date in terms of planning and analytical tools.