LARC40450 Landscape Architectural Thesis

Academic Year 2023/2024

*** Not available in the academic year indicated above ***

Students pursue self-directed project work within a particular territory of research and investigation under the guidance of studio staff. The ethos of the year is "deep landscape", which supposes an immersive landscape approach to a site. Carried out in collaboration with actors from the community, this deep landscape approach supposes close observation of the contemporary landscape and an understanding of the critical factors that affect it and its continued transformation.

The Autumn studio takes the form of analysis; it investigates the range of pressures that mold a contemporary landscape. Working at the scale of an Irish County, this studio identifies needs and potential for change in the design and care of the landscape, or aspects of that landscape. A thesis proposition is developed during this first semester and further explored during the Spring.

Learning is through site visits, transdisciplinary interactions, readings, precedence studies, seminars and design investigations. Tutorials support progress, and reviews involve academics as well as various actors from the study site itself. Students create an online archive to serve future years, enabling their peers to build on layers of previous work.

Reports are submitted at the end of the thesis, compiling and collating the process, progress and results of the work, reflecting thinking on the territory of enquiry, on policy, proposals for change and their consequences by design on the landscape. Students assemble an archive of studio work and present a final exhibition which deals substantially with issues raised by the project.



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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

The MLA graduate is oriented towards design action, seeks synthesis, and follows a process of analysis that leads to creative strategies in landscape architecture.

Upon completion of the module the student will have demonstrated evidence of:

1. Critical thinking
2. Ability to research, document, present and debate issues to do with the production, perception and innovation of a complex site of study
3. Originality, and the use of design as a means of investigation and research
4. Ability to use a range of media to represent, test and communicate ideas to a public audience


Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Studio

600
Total

600
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
reflective learning; enquiry & problem-based learning; studio work; debates; case-based learning; student presentations, community interaction 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Presentation: Presentation of exhibition Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

25
Portfolio: A digital portfolio of work ready for exhibition (end of Spring trimester) Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

25
Project: Thesis report Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
Repeat Within Two Trimesters
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback is delivered regularly in tutorials throughout the two semesters, in response to student work and as part of an iterative process that builds up the the final assessment.

Name Role
Professor Frieder Luz Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Ms Sophia Meeres Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 

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