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063-0704-00L 2 Credits MSC D-ARCH
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Cartographies of Living Systems: A Critical Approach

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Teresa Galí-Izard
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:07:51

Abstract

This course will be an introduction to essential aspects of designing with living systems. The lectures will cover a curated list of constructed landscapes that embody a high level of complexity in their composition, systems, and evolution.

Objective

In class and through additional drawing exercises, the students will explore the components of the sites in great detail: their plant communities, infrastructure, management regimes, climatic and geologic contexts, and the larger systems and territories in which they are embedded. Students will be introduced to meaningful landscape projects, and will learn a methodology for understanding the field of landscape architecture and its potential in relationship to the dynamic performance of living things.

Content

In the lectures, the students will learn about a selection of significant built landscapes that span a range of sizes, ages, and places of origin. The projects will be taught through an analytical framework that prioritizes key landscape elements that are often overlooked in traditional representations of projects. The students will contribute to the course by translating this complexity through drawing exercises. Altogether, the work of the studio will be a critical and comparative study of significant landscape architecture projects, past and present.

Resources

Lecture Notes

Course material will be provided.

Literature

The course material includes a reading list.

General Information

Language
English
Levels
MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
graded semester performance
The performance assessment is carried out on the basis of exercises during the semester (approx. 40 working hours). All exercises must be performed independently, scanned well or done digitally, and submitted on time through an online platform. The overall grade is made up of the average of the exercises assessed.

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Cartographies of Living Systems: A Critical Approach
Same room and time as 052-0741-00L (Landschaftsarchitektur I).
No time listed 2 h weekly

Offered In

  • Landscape Architecture Master
    • Core Courses (The core courses build on the basic courses and convey basic, broad knowledge in the core areas of landscape architecture in relation to design lessons. Some of the core courses are compulsory and some are freely selectable. Further details, in particular about taking these subjects, for performance assessments and for compensating for failed subjects, are regulated in Art. 27 and Art. 31 Paragraph 4.)