RESILIENT LANDSCAPES 

socio‐ecological dynamics and disturbances in landscape planning

In Landscape Design I, the aim is for students to demonstrate the specific nature of a project in Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The course content includes:

_CREATE A CROSS-SCALE PROPOSAL

Based on a territorial and local analysis of the area, students identify the features of the landscape that form its structure. When these features are characterised and described, they become potential elements of the project.

_IDENTIFY THE CAPACITIES OF THE LANDSCAPE

The territorial and urban landscape has intrinsic capacities. Once these have been identified, they become potential for the development of the project, as they give the proposal meaning and a function. Analysis of these capacities is the first activity in the project.

_ RECOGNISE LANDSCAPE STAKEHOLDERS, WHO CAN BRING ABOUT TRANSFORMATION

If the project is to meet the needs of the landscape in which it is situated, we must recognise the landscape stakeholders (residents, associations, local government, etc.) who are potential users and sometimes the source of energy for landscape transformation.

_ USE REPRESENTATION AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND AN INSTRUMENT FOR DECISION-MAKING

Representation is the language of the landscape designer; it is the means of communicating initial intentions and results. In turn, it is the means of analysing and verifying the design hypothesis, as it is the instrument for decision making. We consider it essential for students to practice and explore their representation skills during the course.

_ REVEAL THE NATURE OF THE URBAN LANDSCAPE

It is crucial that the project acknowledges its potential nature as an urban landscape, which reflects the community’s needs directly or indirectly.