Form Projects

For Landscape Architecture 288 at the good ol’ University of Idaho

Fall Semester of 2015 - - - Instructor: Don Brigham, Jr., FASLA

POINT VALUE: 100

DUE DATE: October 29th

PART ONE: BEGIN BY CRITIQUING

OBJECTIVE: To develop an ability to
analyze and critique plant forms in a
composition, including their
relationship to their surroundings.

REQUIREMENTS: For this section,

you shall select two outdoor spaces on
campus or in the Moscow vicinity.
One shall be a space in which you feel
good or like the arrangement of forms
(be they plants, walls, or whatever).
The other is a space that needs
improvement or a space in which you
do not feel comfortable. You need to
visually convey these spaces using
sketches, photos, or some other
creative method. Then, you need to
analyze and critique the space.

Below are some sample questions that may be addressed in your narrative:
--Is there a point of emphasis as a result of plant form? Is this point labeled
correctly?
--Is the relative scale of the forms suitable to the composition? Are there some
forms that are out
of scale?
--Discuss the forms in terms of the design principles of repetition, variety,
balance, emphasis, and
sequence.
--Do the plant forms unite with the architecture to
present a harmonious, unified whole?
--Do the forms complement the architecture? Do they
detract from it? Are there forms which
 could be added or subtracted to improve the composition?

Do not be apprehensive to offer your opinion in this critique. However, be sure

to present rationale for your opinion.

PART TWO: TRY YOUR

OWN ARRANGEMENTS
OBJECTIVE: To be able to utilize basic design principles
to create three dimensional compositions. This will integrate the use
of architectural backdrops and plant compositions.

REQUIREMENTS: In this section, you will be given several different architectural

backdrops. Now you only need to use two of them, so a small degree of freedom of
choice is included here. Using three-dimensional objects of varying shapes and sizes,
you shall arrange these into a pleasing form composition which complements the
backdrop and in addition, create a pleasing outdoor space. In doing so, you will take
into consideration the applicable design principles and combine them into a unified
whole.

For each of these compositions, you shall write a brief (2 or 3 line) explanation of the
effect you were attempting to achieve. An example would be: “In this composition, I
sought to provide a pleasant diversity or variety of plant forms, yet employing an
appropriate amount of repetition so that there is harmony to the whole, not confusion.
The columnar, upright form (which could be a Populus nigra ‘Italica’) is strategically
placed as the focal point of the plant composition.” A poor example would be: “I put
these boxes together this way, ‘cause, like, y’know, I thot they looked good here and
like, the idea kinda came to me as I was, y’know, looking at the arrangment of the
pepperoni on my pizza and so I thot I would use sorta an Italian design scheme,
y‘knowhatimean.”

These compositions shall be communicated to me in some graphic manner: photos,

sketches, etc. –please don’t turn in the models.

PART THREE: TIME FOR CROSS-TRAINING

OBJECTIVE: To familiarize you with 2-dimensional
photo-painting, etc. and its compositional form.
Additionally this exercise will allow you to use your
expansive knowledge of plant names as they relate
to the composition forms.

REQUIREMENTS:
In this section you will abstract and mimic the composition of three different scenes.
These scenes may be a famous painting, the skyline of Chicago, or an advertisement
that you found in Meter Maids on Bikes magazine, but they cannot all be
advertisements or all Van Gogh’s, etc. At your option, you may either scan an
illustration into the computer for use with Photoshop or a paint program, or work with
a photocopy. Abstract the illustrations using colored polygons which have a similar
pattern to the original scene. Then arrange a similar composition of plants to parallel
the original scene and label the names of the plants. Finally, describe in a few well-
written sentences the design principles which you see being exhibited here.

For this section you should submit images which show the original, the abstract, the
plant compositions, and the brief narrative explaining your composition. As always,
verbal quality is important to the overall success of the project.