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I arrived in my first landscape architecture studio having transferred from Civil Engineering. With me came a strong math science background. So, when presented with my first design project, and believing there was some hidden way to approach it, I raised my hand and asked, “What’s the formula?” The response, which at the time I…

One reason for all the jargon in landscape, architecture, and interior design, for the ambiguity, and for the assumptions is what Larson (1977) refers to as a part of The Rise of Professionalism (in regard to landscape architecture see Vernon, 1987). All professions create entry level experiences that seem to scream “I know something you…

For many years I was convinced, and shared with my students, my belief that by the time they entered university, whether from a small town or a metropolitan city, they had all the experiences they needed to be a good, if not a great designer. Flannery O’Connor did me one better. He “said that enough…

Let’s start with your introduction to landscape, architectural, or interior design. Professional university design programs so often adhere to the old adage that, like medicine, for something to be good for you it has to taste bad? I am not alone when I talk about my anxiety-ridden first semesters in landscape architecture. The feelings of…

The shift from learning design as geometry, design jargon, and a focus on things to learning design based on reading, writing, and storytelling brings with it two benefits. First, learning design here is not treated as something new, something you’ve never done before but is based upon existing knowledge and experiences. As a result, learning…

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of “Landscape Architecture as Storytelling” go to the Routledge Publishing website and use discount code EFL02. It is valid until 30 September 2023 for 20% off. Learning to be a professional in most areas of expertise will likely find you experiencing extended periods of angst and anxiety…

Part Four introduces a three-step design process. In it, you, as the designer-author, write a first- or second-person narrative of someone or group experiencing your design. Yes, I am aware you do not have a design at this point. Yes, asking you to write a short narrative is odd but you’ll come to find the…