Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Landscape Architecture Theoretical Frameworks 3

Credit Points: 12.00

Important Information:

Please note that this course may have compulsory in-person attendance requirements for some teaching activities.

To participate in any RMIT course in-person activities or assessment, you will need to comply with RMIT vaccination requirements which are applicable during the duration of the course. This RMIT requirement includes being vaccinated against COVID-19 or holding a valid medical exemption.

Please read this RMIT Enrolment Procedure as it has important information regarding COVID vaccination and your study at RMIT: https://policies.rmit.edu.au/document/view.php?id=209.

Please read the Student website for additional requirements of in-person attendance: https://www.rmit.edu.au/covid/coming-to-campus

Please check your Canvas course shell closer to when the course starts to see if this course requires mandatory in-person attendance. The delivery method of the course might have to change quickly in response to changes in the local state/national directive regarding in-person course attendance.


Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

ARCH1356

City Campus

Undergraduate

315H Architecture & Design

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013

ARCH1356

City Campus

Undergraduate

320H Architecture & Urban Design

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2018,
Sem 2 2019,
Sem 2 2020,
Sem 2 2021,
Sem 2 2022,
Sem 2 2023,
Sem 2 2024,
Sem 2 2025

Course Coordinator: Kyle Bush

Course Coordinator Phone: Contact via email

Course Coordinator Email: kyle.bush@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 100.08.02

Course Coordinator Availability: Contact via email


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

In this course—the final subject in a three-part sequence—you will explore how contemporary theory shapes the practice and discourse of landscape architecture. Through the critical study of precedents and written texts, you will develop analytical tools to interpret, evaluate, and position landscape architectural projects within broader cultural, spatial, and conceptual contexts. You will learn to articulate your own design perspectives through drawing, writing, and collaborative discussion. Theoretical Frameworks 3 deepens your engagement with the discipline by fostering critical thinking, visual communication, and reflective dialogue. This course supports your development as a thoughtful and articulate practitioner, capable of situating your work within contemporary and historical conversations in landscape architecture.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes

In this course you will develop the following program learning outcomes:

  1. Critically apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge incorporating ecological, cultural, economic and ethical issues of landscape architecture in the medium of design using a range of design methods and practices.
  2. Engage in design practice that is characterised by creative and critical thinking skills, analysis, and synthesis.
  3. Communicate using a range of forms and media to clearly and coherently present ideas that are informed by the underlying principles and concepts of the technical and theoretical frameworks of landscape architecture.
  4. Assume responsibility for own ongoing learning and use initiative and informed judgment to position ideas of practice in landscape architecture and across disciplines.
  5. Reference technical and theoretical frameworks of landscape architecture to describe, critique, modify and adapt relevant and innovative forms of design for professional work in the discipline.


Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:

  1. Engage critically and creatively with theoretical texts and visual materials to interpret their relevance to contemporary landscape architectural practice.
  2. Identify and position landscape architectural projects and techniques within current disciplinary discourses using analytical drawing and visual collection methods.
  3. Construct and apply theoretical frameworks to analyse the formal, spatial, and conceptual dimensions of selected precedents.
  4. Evaluate and respond to the ideas and arguments of authors, designers, and projects by developing a well-supported written critical position.
  5. Present and discuss your individual theoretical position through collaborative salon dialogue and exhibition, contributing thoughtfully to academic debate within the discipline


Overview of Learning Activities

Lectures, tutorials, extended tutorials, analytical drawing, visual collection, writing, salon participation (discussions).

Delivery is 100% face to face.

This course will employ a range of different teaching and learning activities, including:

Lectures : Lectures will introduce material that is then discussed in tutorials and workshops

Tutorials and Extended Tutorials: tutorials will use a question or task to prompt or focus reading and discussion. In some cases, extended tutorials will allow a deeper engagement and refinement of specific sets of work that build toward assessment.

Analytical Drawing: This task will require you to construct an analytical drawing of a selected landscape architectural precedent project over multiple weeks.

Visual Collection: This task will require you to explore ideas through image collection, curation and exhibition.

Writing: This task will require you to write a thoroughly researched critical paper, using developed analytical and writing skills, and a prescribed citation style guide.

Salon Participation (Discussion): This task will require you to participate in a critical dialogue with your peers. Salon dialogues will require the use of evidence and positioning within a discourse to support an implied case or argument.


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT Swanston Library has extensive resources for Landscape Architecture Students. The library subject guide is a source of online resources and references - it can be found at: http://rmit.libguides.com/landscape-arch

The Library has additional support information on academic referencing http://www.rmit.edu.au/LIBRARY/referencing

A range of Study resources can be found at: https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/study-support/learning-lab

The RMIT University Study and Learning Centre offers a variety of services for students with a first language other than English: https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/study-support/study-and-learning-centre

Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts

Blanchon, Bernadette. 2016. “Criticism: The Potential of the Scholarly Reading of Constructed Landscapes. Or, the Difficult Art of Interpretation.” Journal of Landscape Architecture 11 (2): 66–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/18626033.2016.1188575.

Bowring, Jacky. 2020. “Landscape Architecture Criticism”. 1st edition. vol. 1. United Kingdom: Routledge. Web.


References

Blanchon, Bernadette, and Kamni Gill. 2014. “Critical Invention.” Journal of Landscape Architecture 9 (1): 4–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/18626033.2014.898817.

Downie, Marc, Shelley Eshkar, and Paul Kaiser. 2012. “Creative Collaborations.” Sitra.


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Salon EOI (Visual Collection, Project Drawing, Essay Outline) 40%. CLO1,CLO2,CLO3

Assessment Task 2: Salon Submission (Visual Essay) 40%. CLO1,CLO2,CLO3,CLO4

Assessment Task 3: Salon Event (Exhibit & Dialogues) 20%. CLO2,CLO4,CLO5

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.