D E S I G N R E A L I Z AT I O N
site, the landscape architect would then match the slope preferences of each program activity (parking lot, building structures, outdoor use areas, etc.) to the slope analysis map created for the site. At least one preliminary site bubble diagram would be created, eventually leading to the preparation of a preliminary site design plan.
Grading and Drainage It is interesting how compartmentalized the various topics in a landscape architecture curriculum are presented. Design, plant materials, site grading, history and theory, and other topics are offered as separate courses. The integration of the different subjects generally comes about after graduation and during the apprenticeship phase of professional development. This process of integration—making whole—should occur much earlier than it does, and in some curricula this happens. The accomplished landscape architect thinks about and considers all the elements that are part of a landscape design nearly simultaneously. As the seasoned designer develops a design, the physical manifestation of the design, including grading, planting, materials, and details, are simultaneously in mind, whether drawing by hand or working with a computer. Landforms and all the various terrain features that are the underpinnings of a design are visualized, at least in one’s mind, as a design develops and unfolds in schematic and later phases in the design process. The landscape architect is thinking about elevation—not necessarily in terms of specific numbers but the relative elevation differences—when designing an outdoor space, considering the alignment of a walkway or trail, or how a walkway connects to an entry plaza. Once a design has been resolved, the relative ups and downs of the designed landscape are translated into contours, spot elevations, and sections. The building blocks for achieving competency in designing (solving)5 grading plans for a project begin with being able to read topographic maps, including understanding scale and understanding various frames of survey reference such as datum terms of elevation and grids. After learning how to read a topographic map, one needs to learn the principles of working with contours, spot elevations, and slopes to arrive at grading solutions. The activity of landscape site grading design requires the knowledge and skills that include the following competency areas: 1. Be capable of integrating landscape site grading as one develops a site design plan and recognizing that site grading provides the underpinnings and three-dimensional framework of a landscape design. Thinking about landform and elevation is equally important to thinking about creation of forms, spaces, and the circulation system linking spaces. 2. Be familiar with drafting (drawing representation) conventions and use of architectural and engineering scales. 3. Be able to read topographic maps and be able to identify landform features such as hills, valleys, and steep and not so steep terrain, and drainage patterns. Be able to determine elevations of any point or feature from a topographic map. 187
