Evolutionary Landscapes - UO 2021 LA 408/508

Instructors:    Mary Polites, Ignacio Lopez Buson
Students:       Lexi Smaldone, Heather Tietz, Iryna Volynets, Emmett McCarthy, Christian Jones, Alison Grover, Hillary Greenwald, Lindsay Kurtz, Jessica Gonzalez, Darby Pierce, Kennedy Rauh, Isabela Ospina, Mikah Wahlstorm, Michael Soto, Austin Mahar, Masayo Simon, William Bonner, Stephen Lorber, Liz Koonce, David Pauls, Taylor Bowden

This course aims to explore digital tools and techniques to understand some fundamentals of environmental phenomena (wind, water, solar radiation) and analyze how these may affect the physical environment. Part of the challenge in working with dynamic systems is balancing the physical reality and representational modeling. To achieve this balance, we will use an iterative computational approach based on evolutionary algorithms. By analyzing the existing conditions on a selected site through digital models, we will use this data to inform the manipulation of the topography. The multiplicity of design solutions will allow students to engage in an evaluation process to determine the best and worst options based on objective data. This class aims to increase students' computational and design skills and teach them the critical agency of digital tools in contemporary landscape design processes.

ISSUU Publication