GLA305 Social sustainability in a context of vulnerability

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge

• Demonstrate an integrated understanding of landscape architecture theory, design processes, and methodological approaches.
• Explain how principles of equitable development, social and environmental justice, and community resilience inform landscape strategies in complex and contested contexts.
• Formulate advanced landscape strategies grounded in theory, ethics, and critical thinking.

Skills

• Develop and carry out a coherent, process-oriented design project informed by research and creative thinking.
• Synthesize analytical and theoretical insights into spatial and strategic design proposals.
• Communicate complex ideas and design outcomes effectively through oral, written, graphic, and multimedia formats.

General Competencies

• Critically reflect on their own work and position it in relation to broader environmental, social, and ethical challenges.
• Demonstrate independent judgment and the ability to engage with complex landscape issues.

• Willingness to take responsibility for one's own learning process, engaging actively in discussions, feedback sessions, and iterative design development.
• Motivation to work through a process-based approach, connecting research, analysis, reflection, and design exploration over time.
• Basic graphic and communication skills to express ideas visually, verbally, and in writing, and to participate meaningfully in collaborative exchanges.
• Ability to think analytically and reflectively, with openness to revising ideas in response to feedback and peer dialogue.
• Readiness to collaborate in diverse groups, embracing different cultural backgrounds, perspectives, and ways of thinking as a resource for learning.
• Openness to critical inquiry, including the willingness to question assumptions, standards, and established paradigms as part of developing independent judgment.

Curiosity to explore and openness to move beyond conventional wisdom. Finding a balance between structured and unstructured ways of working.

Contributions, curiosity, respect, tolerance and patience for peer learning.

Embrace process over product.

The course workload is distributed between structured teaching and independent study, reflecting the student-centred and process-based nature of the studio.

• 25% Structured Teaching

This includes lectures, short presentations, facilitated discussions, consultations on assignments, critiques, reviews, and feedback sessions. These activities support and frame the learning process, while encouraging active participation and dialogue.

• 75% Independent Study

The majority of the course is dedicated to self-directed learning, including individual work and group project development. During this time, students conduct research, develop concepts, test design ideas, refine proposals, and prepare presentations and portfolio materials. This structure supports iterative learning, responsibility for one's own progress, and collaborative project development.

Exception from package of measures 1: Studio.

The subject uses one of the rooms in KA

Portfolio Evaluation

The final assessment is based on a portfolio that compiles all project work developed throughout the studio. The portfolio represents the outcome of the semester-long process and demonstrates the progression, refinement, and synthesis of ideas.

The portfolio must include:

• The final PowerPoint presentation, etc
• The printed posters documenting the studio work and project results.

The portfolio will be evaluated as a whole, considering the quality of the design process, analytical depth, conceptual development, visual communication, and coherence of the work.

Grading scale: AF

All submissions and presentations must be prepared and delivered in English.

K2.

Artificial Intelligence tools may be used as a source of inspiration in the development of assignments. AI can support brainstorming, idea exploration, or preliminary research.

If AI tools are used, students must briefly describe how they were used in their work. This includes:

• The purpose of using AI (eg, inspiration, text refinement, idea generation), etc
• The name(s) of the program(s) or tool(s) used.

The use of AI should remain transparent, responsible, and aligned with academic integrity principles. The student remains fully responsible for the content, analysis, design decisions, and final submission.

The course is organized in progressive phases, each with clear intentions and deliverables, but the learning process remains open, iterative, and student-driven. Throughout the semester, students actively engage in exercises, lectures, discussions, class critiques, pin-ups, and studio work centered on a semester-long landscape project.

The exercises are designed to support independent inquiry and collaborative learning. Students map, read, and analyze the study area from spatial, social, cultural, and environmental perspectives. Rather than simply receiving information, students are encouraged to interpret, question, and construct their own understanding of the site as part of their design process.

Lectures complement the studio and introduce theoretical and practical perspectives related to the course themes. Contributions from practitioners and researchers provide inspiration, but students are expected to critically reflect on these inputs and integrate them into their own work.

Studio work forms the core of the course and is grounded in dialogue, peer learning, and continuous feedback. Students work in groups, share ideas, present their progress in weekly pin-ups, and participate in critiques and discussions. The role of the instructor is to guide, facilitate, and support the learning process, while students take responsibility for developing, testing, and refining their ideas through reflection and collaboration. This structure supports self-directed learning, experimentation, and active engagement.

• Feedback is understood as a collaborative and continuous learning process. Students will engage in dialogue during lectures, workshops, group presentations, and in-class discussions, where peer feedback and collective reflection play an important role in developing ideas. This approach encourages active participation, shared responsibility for learning, and critical exchange within the studio environment.
• Through CANVAS and the MIRO board, students will receive guidance, comments, and resources to support their independent work. These platforms are also spaces for interaction, where students can share insights, respond to feedback, document their progress, and take an active role in shaping their learning process in line with self-regulated design learning principles.

MARIA GABRIELLA TROVATO (fall 2024)

Guest (TBC)

• Active and full-time participation in lectures, studio sessions, discussions, critiques, and presentations.
• Weekly progress and iterative development: Students are expected to demonstrate continuous development of their proposals throughout the semester, showing how research informs design and how design explorations generate further inquiry.
• Process-based learning: Through experimentation, testing, reflection, and refinement, students take responsibility for driving their own projects. The work evolves through ongoing dialogue, feedback, and revision. The instructor acts as a facilitator, providing guidance, feedback, and support throughout the process.
• Use of graphic tools and visual methods to explore, document, and communicate the design process, including research findings, conceptual development, and spatial experimentation.
• Participation in mid-term and final reviews, where students present and reflect on the development of their work as part of the collective learning environment.

Tailor-made for each thematic framework.

A course description, structure, and syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the studio.