Digital Landscapes
Course code : ENVT1008
Course co-ordinator : David Watson
Aims and Outcomes
This course is about exploring and experimenting with new ways to experience designs for gardens and landscapes, it has a number of aims:
- to develop a visual understanding of Landscape
- to develop a more "painterly" method of Landscape Survey
- to explore the various ways by which a Landscape may be experienced
- to develop an understanding of and to construct design narratives
- to introduce students to paperless presentation methods
- to introduce non-traditional methods of Landscape representation
- to introduce students to Landscape generation software
Course Diary
The course diary gives an overview of the timetable, weekly topics and submission dates for this course. There may be occasional changes, so check back frequently.
| Date | Room | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, 21st Jan | Lab A | Introduction, Journey project, AutoCAD basics & concepts |
| Thu, 28th Jan | Lab A | AutoCAD 2D - drafting accurately |
| Thu, 4th Feb | Lab A | AutoCAD 3D - primitives, boolean, sweep, revolve and loft |
| Thu, 11th Feb | Lab A | AutoCAD 3D - materials, rendering & animation |
| Thu, 18th Feb | Lab A | The journey is the reward - presentations * |
| Thu, 25th Feb | Lab A | Introduction to Bryce and Garden project |
| Thu, 4th Mar | Lab A | Building your garden in AutoCAD |
| Thu, 11th Mar | Lab A | Bryce - importing your garden and building a setting |
| Thu, 18th Mar | Lab A | Bryce - picture objects and presentation styles |
| Thu, 25th Mar | Lab A | Bryce - keyframe animation |
| Easter Break (3 weeks) | ||
| Thu, 22nd Apr | Lab A | GoI - presentations * |
| Thu, 29th Apr | Lab A | Virtual landscape project introduction & design |
| Thu, 30th Apr | Lab A | Virtual landscape workshop (AutoCAD) |
| Thu, 6th May | Lab A | Virtual landscape design - presentations * |
| Thu, 13th May | - | Final hand-in |
Course Documents
There are currently 3 files in this section
| Filename | Size (KB) | Date Modified | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
AutoCAD 2D Drawing Exercise.pdf | 40.5 | 28th Mar 2009 |
|
Bryce 4 User Guide.pdf | 7,156.2 | 28th Mar 2009 |
|
ENVT1008 Course Brief 09-10.pdf | 108.2 | 20th Jan 2010 |
Assessment
The course is divided into 3 main projects, each with its own timetable but the assessments for each project will be made on the basis of the final portfolio submission at the end of the course. The 3 main projects are: The journey is the reward, Garden of the imagination, and Virtual landscape design.
Assessment for this unit will be by the methods and proportions described below:
| Project | Method | %age of course total |
|---|---|---|
| The journey is the reward | Crit/Portfolio | 35% |
| Garden of the imagination | Crit/Portfolio | 35% |
| Virtual landscape design | Crit/Portfolio | 30% |
Crit dates for these projects are indicated as * on the course calendar above.
The journey is the reward (project 1)
Project overview
You are to create a presentation describing a journey that you have made. The presentation will be made from your personal (subjective) point of view. You must consider how your presentation differs from an objective view of the same journey. The presentation may be CD or web based and will be shown to the class on the day of submission.
Project aim
The aim of this project is to allow you the freedom to convey a personal experience of a landscape as you travel through it. This project is designed to develop a visual understanding of the existing landscape, and to develop an appreciation of how the perception of landscape may vary from person to person and from time to time. It also aims to improve your understanding of the sensual landscape (texture, colour, sound etc.). Landscape survey often requires objective consideration and although this is necessary, it is not always conducive to freedom of expression/design. In this project, you will consider the differences between your perception of a landscape, those of others and the objective view. You will also need to consider what influences caused your particular reaction to the various landscape stimuli as this will help to improve the self reflective aspect of your work. The project is also intended to improve your digital graphic and presentation skills.
Brief
Plan a journey. This could be a walk, a train or bus ride; journeys by car are not suitable as the comfortable/familiar environment is not conducive to detailed observation. The journey could be long or relatively short. The journey could be rural or it may be urban ("landscape" is a broad term) It is better to plan a journey with which you are not familiar; this will allow you the luxury of observing new things for the first time. Record the journey. This may be done in any way you feel is right; photography, video, audio, sketches, a collection of found objects, textual descriptions or a combination of some or all of these things.
Present your journey. The presentation of your personal journey should be considered as "art". It will be your own interpretation of your journey and should draw upon any ideas or influences you consider germane. The presentation is probably best based upon a narrative of the actual journey but you are free to interpret it in any way you see fit.
Project development
This is a relatively simple project but the freedom you are given has its own problems. One way to approach the project may be to have no preconceived ideas about your presentation until after the journey has been made. This will allow you the freedom of choosing a suitable medium on the basis of what you have seen, heard or felt. In some cases, this may necessitate a second journey, taken with your preferred recording materials. Once you have gathered the materials, you may want to create a storyboard of the journey and this may also serve as a template for the presentation. Further guidance will be given at the workshop sessions.
Project assessment
The assessment for this project will be based upon the originality of your work, the visual quality and clarity of your presentation and the innovative use of software and media.
Garden of the imagination (project 2)
Project overview
You are to create a virtual landscape or garden from your imagination and to build a narrative, event or journey within that place. The narrative will be played out as an animation and will be in the form of a short video, presented on CD and shown to the class on the day of submission.
Project aim
This project is designed to develop an understanding of 3D digital design tools and animation techniques. In addition, you will learn how to design a virtual landscape, using your own materials and how to mix digital and traditional media. The project also aims to improve your understanding of virtual 3D space and how it can be used to test design ideas.
Brief
Create an imaginary landscape within which an event will occur or through which a journey will be made. Your "site" is a rectangle of 30m by 20m. Animate created objects in this landscape in order to make a clear narrative. Present your work as a video file on CD.
Project development
This project requires a high degree of technical skill and the workshops will provide much of the detail needed to complete the work. Although Bryce is the software used during the workshops, you are free to use whatever software you prefer.
Project assessment
The assessment for this project will be based upon the creativity and originality of your virtual landscape, the inventiveness of the narrative and the degree of technical skill demonstrated.
Virtual landscape design (project 3)
Project overview
The idea behind this project is to demonstrate the advantages of testing your design ideas using virtual landscapes. Using virtual environments and gaming technologies, the project hopes to develop a new "real-time" method for 3D design development. Your work should be submitted on CD and presented to the class on the day of submission.
Project aim
The aim of the project is to explore an experimental technique for visualising and presenting a design for a garden or landscape. We will be using techniques not normally associated with traditional landscape or garden design to see if there are better ways to "experience" our designs before committing them to the real world.
Brief
Design a new garden/landscape for the central area of the Maritime Greenwich campus. Build a 3D model of the design using the software of your choice (we recommend AutoCAD but you may use whatever you feel most comfortable with). Create a Blitz 3D virtual model that can be explored in real-time.
Project assessment
The assessment for this project will be based upon the creativity and originality of your garden/landscape design, the ease with which the design can be understood within the virtual environment and the degree of technical skill demonstrated.
An Important Note
This is a design course where you will be developing new skills in digital design and in the use of digital methods of presentation. It is important to understand that the course is not just about designing "things", it is about learning design methods and the process of design. When you present work for this course, you will always need to tell two different but related stories. The first is the story of the presented work. The second is your own personal story of how you designed it and the techniques you used. At each crit, you will be expected to illustrate both stories. In practical terms, this means that you should present all of the design ideas and your rough workings/sketches even if they didn't make it to the final design. The illustration of design ideas that you may have rejected is just as important as those that you adopted because it clearly illustrates your design logic and method.
Course Materials
There are currently 6 files in this section
| Filename | Size (KB) | Date Modified | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Naval College Model.dwg | 2,108.3 | 28th Mar 2009 |
 |
Naval College Plan.jpg | 126.8 | 28th Mar 2009 |
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page1.gif | 210.3 | 28th Mar 2009 |
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person.gif | 52.2 | 28th Mar 2009 |
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tree2.psd | 175.7 | 28th Mar 2009 |
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tree3.psd | 188.3 | 28th Mar 2009 |
Inspiration
Resources
CADTutor - Tutorials for AutoCAD, Bryce etc.
Autodesk student site - Free AutoCAD student edition
Autodesk student site - Free Bryce
SketchUp site - Free Google SketchUp