An Incomplete Manifesto for Landscape Studio*
d e pa r t m e n t o f g e o s c i e n c e s a n d n at u r a l r e s o u r c e m a n a g e m e n t university of copenhagen Published in 2017 The University of Copenhagen
Author: Peter Lundsgaard Hansen Editor: Anna Sofia Falkentoft ISBN
978-87-7903-761-8
Introduction The texts presented in this manifesto started as lose notes and advice to my students of Landscape Studio. It was first made an assemblage of principles, and shared amongst students and colleagues of landscape design in 2016, at witch time there had never - to my knowledge - been a landscape manifesto**. The principles described deals with what happens when we exchange ‘human idea’ in creative work and places “connectedness” as a 1’st philosophy in the Studio . An incomplete manifesto for Landscape Studio is in fact incomplete and therefore the title it self is part of the manifesto. It is the nature of any landscape and the only principle in the manifesto that regards landscapes themselves. The magic spell Abracadabra is believed to mean, “I create while I speak” and this reminds us that the limitations of any manifesto lie not in what we can do with it, but rather what we think it can do for us. A critical rejection of this manifesto is therefore preferable if the alternative is an unconscious acceptance and belief that this is the only way of working. I would like to dedicate this unfinished business to all my students and my fellow colleagues who are passionate about teaching design. * Bruce Mau´s ”An incomplete manifesto for growth” is the inspiration for assembling notes and designerly advise for my students of Landscape Studio. * * In ‘Letter to the Students of landscape Architecture’ French landscape architect and teacher Michel Corajoud (1937-2014) presents nine steps in ‘the nine pedagogic principles to acquire a design method’ published in 2016. I recommend it for further exploration.
Are we Connected?
Connection is an Artform in the studio. Connectedness is the 1’st philosophy of Landscape Studio. See all other bullets
00
Allow others to change how you see Open your eyes and see, listen, and observe the sketches and drawings in front of you. The pre-
requisite for a moment of change: openness and imagination: of what happened just before what you see, and what could happen next.
Note: the paradox that as a rule the group is wiser (see better) than the individual, but if the individual starts to listen (too much) to the group, the effect crumbles (vanishes).
01
Forget about the good, the bad and the ugly landscape It destroys creativity. So, when you design land-
scapes you will make new ‘mistakes’ for future generations. Make them interesting and relevant for future generations to study!
02
Working models are more important than presentation models If you wait until the end and build a presentation
model – you must remember that it will probably be presenting all the flaws you have made by not letting the design process be informed by working models.
03
Make your work fun Plan ahead, be organized and take responsibility.
It is the only way to allow your selves to take time off and relax, listen to music and read a good book.
Clean up your studio worktables once a week. It
clears the head, reduces fire hazards and you
might acturally find something important (you
may even find your first sketch somewhere - it is usually pretty good!).
04
Draw everything You will discover so much more. Do not wait. Only then can you turn off layers and simplify. Contin-
uously shift between sketch, model, ACAD, AI and Id.
05
Great ideas are often banal What initially looks or sounds like a mistake
or even banal may very well lead to new and
surprizing recognition if you don´t keep it at arms length.
06
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Anna Sofia
Peter
Ø Hand-in 12.00h & exhibition ‘Collision I’ & Group work
wardrobe
1:1500
enter / exit tea kitchen
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Rooming & Thick space The studio should reflect the design. It is almost
like the memory of the design process. Use the studio and its educational space actively as a silent
member of the group. Arrange and rearrange the workspace – ‘rooming’ - in intervals that correspond to the situation of your design process. I call
this phenomena thick space and it help slow down the exchange of ideas so we can inform it without loosing direction.
07
Walk, talk and make ideas Movement foregrounds creative work. If you - or it (human ideas for change) does not ‘move’ there is nothing. So make it move, build it, say it, draw it,
build it again, take it for a walk – take a walk your self.
08
Begin anywhere But begin now. Get past the white paper/screen/
model out of the way. When in doubt - start by drawing what is already there or everything sur-
rounding the area. This is one way to distance your selves from a monologue and start a Design Conversation. See 16, 21+27
09
Spotting a great idea is more important than getting one The different between recognizing a great idea
and having one is zero. The beauty is that ideas
travel and if you are great you will recognize (see) an idea, embrace it and make it even better. Share it before you loose it. See 7 10
Ideas need work like a flower needs water Even a half good idea can become great when it is worked with and a great idea will surely suffer if you think it is good enough.
11
Mediate Work in many medias – you will see more and you will
not get stuck so easy. ‘Hack’ a white model by projecting images down on it. Switch from drawing to mod-
el, to text, to visualization, to drawing, to reading and
so forth. To begin with, one activity will always probe change in the next one, until a point when nothing we do or say will change a difference. See 5 12
Do not run because you are busy Walk and you will get there quicker. If there is a
task that you have been avoiding then you should probably do it now! See 4
13
Kill your concept If it keeps getting in your way. A concept can be so strong that it will destroy the design thinking.
Know when to say goodbye, archive and move on. See 19
14
Make mistakes in the studio -now! They fuel Design Conversations. If you hide the not knowing for later then what are you here for?
15
Thick Design Conversation Abracadabra means I create while I speak. A design conversation is about preforming a profes-
sional ‘connectedness’ that bridge verbalized
expression to physical form and it foregrounds:
the meeting of minds and the sharing of ideas. The creative potential will blow your minds if you
don´t let conflict, friction, delight and frustration get the better of you. See 7
16
----------------. Blank. For you to fill in.
17
Sleep 8 hours Remember to get sleep. Landscape architecture is not more important than you health. See 4
18
Reference pictures are dynamite Study them well before you use them and know
what you want to communicate. It has great po-
tential to be misunderstood and blow up in your hands. Go from many to few.
19
Ideas are generic If you accept that ideas travel then someone (or something) was the host of your idea a moment
ago. Imagine if all ideas that will ever be already
exist. It is an experiment that questions authorship. The idea you have now is the child of the Design Conversation you had yesterday and the par-
ent of the Design Conversation of tomorrow. If you want to keep your idea it must grow. See 16
20
Repetition and the magic moments Draw it again, say it again, write it, and build it
again and then again - until the moment where the
plan or model starts to talk back to you. Yes, things can talk if you let it. You will never be alone again. See 12
21
Next time Try to do the exact same drawing or model again. But this time use other textures, fabrics and materials. Hybrid the last model with the one you have
now and turn it into the next model/ plan. Take
a picture from above. Use the vertical projector to project it again. Redraw it and write some new words on it. See 16+21
22
Design by Reference We need hero landscapes and we need favourite drawings because it is like travelling to new places
without moving. Use reference plans and drawings
when you make your own plans. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, fold it, rotate it, flip it, mirror it and assemble it into your plan. It is not robbery if you do it openly – it is a tribute to tradition and
it acknowledges other peoples work. It makes you an original.
23
Design is not software First and foremost design is a non-linear, and cre-
ative method. You must be able to think and create with the computer turned off. Try it!
However, Landscape Studio is not a secluded is-
land – so turn on all other courses that you have had. Landscape Studio love natural science, high tech and digital media.
24
Put your empty coffee cup over by the sink And use the bins. Open a window and let in a little fresh air.
25
Group work Always go for the ball and not the player. The de-
sign will suffer (and so will your personal energy)
if you start focusing on a member/actor of your team. Have morning meetings and bring cake. In your professional life you will not be able to pick
your colleagues and working partners. Group work mirrows professionel life. 26
Do not start by reading If you read too much you risk getting lost in pro-
grammatic translation and you disconnect your
selves from discovering very important design matters because you know too much. Trust your creative intuition. (See 9). This does not mean that
you should not read, analyse or be otherwise loyal
to a clients programme. Just leave it out for a lit-
tle while – you will have plenty of opportunity to read. But if you start by reading you can´t shut out the knowing.
27
The power of language Just as music has its own language (with composition, harmony, expression of knowledge and emo-
tion, rhythm, story etc.) the drawing speaks its own language through its hierarchy of strokes and
lines. This language has its own grammar with a vocabulary that voices spatial concepts. When you
assemble it into a plan it becomes a narrative. Try to be observant to how you draw and how you ad-
dress what you draw – it is a powerful vehicle in the design process.
28
Complementarity – and the thinking hand Design has two interrelated sides: Science as the rational, and the humanities as the aesthetic. Un-
derstanding both is necessary if we are to fully
understand any given phenomenon. So your head and your hand are synthesizing this complementarity as you move your pen.
29
Distance and Proximity When you are working in large-scale, think of local detail – and when you work locally, think of the
big picture. Landscape design happens in a combination of large-scale context and local identity.
Planning and design are often practiced as two
separate disciplines. Landscape Studio eliminates this distinction.
30
Make money Never trust someone who says landscapes are
mere expenses. It is idiocy. We must work harder to prove otherwise.
31
Listen carefully to what you ‘do not’ say and observe what you ’did not’ draw Look at the plan you have now. What is all the
white? Draw that now: give it a physical body and you will probably find that this is the real project.
32
Plan your own excursions Reality usually beats endless discussions about
this and that. Hop on your bicycles and go to
study build landscapes. Your design conversation will thicken and become more focused and decision-making becomes more conscious. Check the weather forecast – this is not equator. 33
Is this the real world or school? Even professionals will make this mistake over and over again. However, it kills the core discipline of design. Yes, studying landscape design is the real thing. The project you are working on is just
as real as any. Do not do your selves the disadvantage of an illusion that will only set you back.
34
Initiate Give something to the conversation if you want
something back. “If you have one egg and I have
one egg and you give me one egg and I give you one egg – then you have one egg and I have one egg.
If you have one idea and I have one idea and you
give me one idea and I give you one idea – then you have two ideas and I have two ideas” (Confucius).
35
Present the idea – do not sell it like real estate Be passionate but keep the fireworks for some other occasion.
36
Engage in the Studio The workspace we create is defined by duct-tape
on the floor and a vertical projector. In it, we combine skill-based analogue design practises and
advanced digital techniques to create a hybrid
studio synergy with multiple participants. Inside the workspace, physical proximity to models, ma-
terials, vertical projection and the stop-motion
broadcast onto the floor/model/table supports the relation between aesthetics and pedagogy and
that design is grounded on the act of seeing and re-
volves around the ability to connect vocal speech to physical form. Engage in the studio and make it ‘your’ workspace. If you do not engage it will not utter a word. See 7
37
Buy your selves a little happiness Invite another group to lunch or cake. Share your ideas and ask them how they are tackling some of the same issues you have difficulty solving. Know
when you should use a little money on better prints and model materials.
38
Presentations are for you not for the teachers Communicating the work that you have now is like sketching. Every time you present your idea the
language alters a little. This is important progress and it helps to identify where the idea is still weak. The Design Conversation involving your fellow students probably applies to you as well. So, stick around!
39
Take shortcuts Do it because it makes sense - not because you are lazy.
40
Laugh Bruce Mau is right. It´s good for us and it indicates that we are receiving more energy than we are using.
41
Remember The idea you have worked on in the framework of a nine-week design studio will travel with you to
your next course and the next design conversation you have.
42
Access is freedom It is something we give each other. So when your group members give it to you it is a gift worth returning.
43
Knowledge and Understanding Design is about combining what is known into
new understanding. Design never adds, deducts or multiplies! You cannot take 2 kilometres and add ‘love’. One is a metric distance and the other is a
matter of the hart. However, if you use design you may have a beautiful ‘Promenade’.
44
Archive in Action.
Make your own archive and clean up your studio
worktables once a week. It reduces fire hazards, it clears your head and you might actually find
something important. You may even find your first sketch somewhere – it is usually pretty good! Organize your favourite reference books.
45
An incomplete manifesto Index 0. Are we Connected?
0.
2. Forget about the good, the bad and the ugly landscape.
2.
1. Allow others to change how you see.
1.
3. Working models are more important than presentation models.
3.
4. Make your work fun.
4.
6. Great ideas are often banal
6.
5. Draw everything.
7. Rooming & Thick Space.
8. Walk, talk and make ideas. 9. Begin anywhere.
5. 7. 8. 9.
10. Spotting a great idea is more important than getting one.
10.
11. Ideas need work like a flower needs water.
11.
13. Don´t run because you are busy.
13.
12. Mediate.
14. Kill your concept.
15. Make mistakes in the studio - now! 16. Design Conversation.
17. ----------------. Blank. For you to fill in. 18. Sleep 8 hours.
19. Reference pictures are dynamite. 20. Ideas are generic.
21. Repetition and the magic moments. 22. Next time.
12. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
23. Design by Reference.
23.
25. Put your empty coffee cup over by the sink.
25.
24. Design is not software. 26. Group work.
27. Don´t start by reading.
28. The power of language.
29. Complementarity – and the thinking hand. 30. Distance and Proximity. 31. Make money.
32. Listen carefully to what you do not say and observe what you did not draw.
24. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.
33. Plan your own excursions.
33.
35. Initiate.
35.
34. Is this the real world or school? 36. Present the idea – don´t sell it like real estate.
34. 36.
37. Engage in the Studios.
37.
39. Presentations are for you - not for the teachers.
39.
38. Bye your selves a little happiness.
38.
40. Take shortcuts.
40.
42. Remember.
42.
41. Laugh.
43. Access is Freedom.
44. Knowledge and Understanding. 45. Archive in Action
41. 43. 44. 45.