DOI
ISSN:978-0-9853013-2-3

Summary
The authors of this paper highlight the importance of incorporating a systems-based approach in landscape architecture education to teach both practical skills and expand the intellectual boundaries of the discipline. They present their approach to this through two related courses at the University of Washington that integrate basic ecological principles with the design process in the first year of studies. However, they also note that implementing this framework can have challenges for students. Students may struggle with comprehending the complexity of ecological concepts and their spatial relevance, incorporating the temporal aspects of biophysical processes, and balancing the focus on relationship-building with form-making. In addition, linear narrative representations of design proposals may not fully capture the multidimensional interactions inherent in ecological systems and the design process. Despite these challenges, the authors advocate for the continued use and refinement of a systems-based approach in landscape architecture education to better prepare students for contemporary practice and contribute to the ongoing development of the discipline.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
While not offering any new perspective in complex system theory, the paper recalls implementing system thinking to design education, which can provide some interesting insights. The paper confronts two parallel experiences in two related courses, a studio and a lecture that introduce basic ecological principles and integrate them with the design process to assess the different outcomes. The paper highlight the critical importance of creating a multidisciplinary framework between design ecology and landscape design.

Point of Strength
Though it has long been acknowledged within the design and planning disciplines that a structured hierarchical and linear approach to delivering information, such as with a strict lecture format, does not adequately facilitate the learning process or engage in professional skills development, the paper offers some novel insight comparing the linear approach to a system based one.
The paper, highlighting the difficulties experienced by the students in comprehending the complexity of the phenomena addressed by the course, offers some useful suggestions to teachers to approach the issues of landscape planning and design.
- Regarding the landscape design's objective, the authors suggest that teachers need to focus less on the physical components and more fully on the relationships and patterns that form cohesion and support function within the system.
- Systems-thinking in design education should be focused on 'how' and 'why' something works. Instead of characterizing the design process as a bounded, linear progression, it should be taught and understood as iterative and responsive.
- The focus should be on the design's functional potential rather than the aesthetic in a design studio.
However, some questions emerged regarding the utility of engaging the students across such a broad foundation so early in the program.
The authors find students have difficulty with:
- 1) comprehending the complexity of core ecological concepts and their spatial relevance;
- 2) incorporating the temporal aspects of biophysical processes and focusing on the sometimes intangible qualities of relationship-building reduces students' capacity for form-making;
- 3) a linear approach to narrative representation of design proposals doesn't capture or express the multidimensional interactions inherent in ecological systems and in the design process.
The authors suggested that for students at the early stages of a program greater merit may be gained from focusing on a more defined, deeper, exploration of a particular system.