SPOTLIGHT mini-series: Transforming Landscape Through Culture: Dance Principles & Archival Sources as Design Inspiration - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Aug 21, 2018

The Anacostia riverfront in Washington, D.C., suffers from a severe lack of experiential diversity. Part I of this presentation explores how dance can be successfully translated into the landscape and how choreographic dance principles are helpful tools for creating a diverse and engaging landscape composition. Many dance principles can apply to landscape design. By approaching park design as a choreographer of dance, a designer can focus on the human experiences –how materiality and the environment influence movement, senses, and emotions, creating a diverse and engaging landscape composition.

Part II of the presentation illustrates how to integrate GIS into the design process of documenting, preserving, and interpreting historic landscapes. What began as GIS mapping of the land transfer of George Washington's five farms at Mount Vernon led to a healing garden concept for the historically African-American neighborhood of Gum Springs, founded by former slave, West Ford. This presentation will educate participants on mapping techniques and dataset analysis in ArcGIS in order to integrate ecological research with cultural landscapes, providing inspiration for design decisions and practical guidance in ecological restoration.

Learning Objectives

• Learn how choreographic dance principles can be translated into landscape design at the site scale

• Gain a new approach to design and user experience by implementing choreographic dance principles to create contrast and stimulate movement, senses, and emotions.

• Understand how to formulate the right questions for dataset construction and the design process feedback loop.

• Utilize various methods for incorporating archival sources and ecological planting frameworks into GIS datasets.

Speakers
Jennifer Ren, Student ASLA
Rebekah Lawrence, Student ASLA

PPN Mentors
David Cutter, ASLA, Campus Planning & Design PPN
Kristina Snyder, ASLA, Women in Landscape Architecture PPN
Amy Wagenfeld, Affiliate ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN

SPOTLIGHT mini-series: Adaptation Strategies: Infrastructure Flexibility for Resilient Communities and Autonomous Vehicles - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Aug 28, 2018

Sea level rise has had a significant impact on coastal ecosystems resulting in wetland loss, increased coastal erosion/inundation, and increases in the duration and frequency of flooding from storm surge. The first presentation introduces a collection of adaptive flood attenuation mechanisms (both structural and non-structural) for protecting newly designed communities from flood events and the eventual impacts of sea level rise.

The second presentation examines how the autonomous vehicle will redefine the streetscape in the coming future. For one possibility, street space could shift towards more pedestrian-oriented urban neighborhoods. Driverless cars may use space more efficiently and potentially relinquish some of this space, particularly street parking in downtown areas to public space. For another possibility, these saved spaces might simply be packed with more driverless cars based on increasing ride demands. The critical question becomes how to reassign the authority between the pedestrians and riders on the street.

Learning Objectives

• Gain insight on implementable climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies

• Explore economic, ecological, cultural and social benefits from the practice of green infrastructure

• Identify impacts that driverless car will brings to our city

• Examine concepts and strategies for implementing infrastructure flexibility and how this will change urban corridor aesthetics and programming
  

Speakers
Zixu Qiao, Associate ASLA
Yadan Luo, Associate ASLA

PPN Mentors
Hunter Beckham, FASLA, Sustainable Design & Development PPN
Eric Gilbey, ASLA, Digital Technology PPN
Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA, Women in Landscape Architecture PPN