landscape architect design methods _3

landscape architect design methods

Lynch and Hack do not talk about process or design theory. Rather, they concentrate on the identification and definitions of the methods. Rowe takes a very different tack and views methods as part of a generic design process. Rowe does not identifies methods peruse, but identifies forms of reasoning which are analogous to Lynch and Hack’s methods. He states, “Design is often guided by heuristic reasoning involving solution images, analogies, or restricted sets of form-giving rules that partially and provisionally define the “end” or solution state of a problem, i.e. what it should be like.” (Rowe, 18)

Though Rowe is an architect and constructs his arguments from an architect’s viewpoint, he approaches the subject of design methods in a generic manner adaptable to any design effort and not confined simply to architectural or landscape design. Rowe’s methods are readily adaptable to landscape architecture. The adaptability of Rowe’s methods to other design disciplines is described by his opening statement.

“A distinction can be made in the world of problems between those that are well defined and those that are ill defined. In solving the former kind the “ends” are known and one has to find the “means”. In the latter kind, that includes most architectural design problems, both the “ends” and the “means” are unknown at first and one has to define the problem. Architectural design problems can also be referred to as being “wicked problems” in that they have no definitive formulation, no explicit “stopping rule,” always more than one plausible explanation, a problem formulation that corresponds to a solution and vice versa, and that their solutions cannot be strictly correct or false. Tackling a problem of this type requires some initial insight, the exercise of some provisional set of rules, inference, or plausible strategy, in other words, the use of heuristic reasoning.”

Rowe places his methods in the context of a design process, which is helpful for illustrating where and how methods are involved as one designs.

landscape architect design methods

“During the course of designing one mode of heuristic reasoning may be found to be unproductive and give way to other kinds; co-mingling may even occur. As a result design appears to be essentially an emergent phenomenon where new information about a problem is generated, evaluated together with a prior knowledge, and solution strategies amended accordingly.” (Rowe, 18)

Rowe defines a design process loop where input is subjected to some type of process, which in turn generates output. The output is then reviewed and feedback is generated. The output then become the new input and the cycle continues. Rowe’s model is rather crude compared to Col. John Boyd’s loop model OODA. 

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landscape architect design methods _4

landscape architect design methods