Emergence in Landscape Architecture

3 units

This course investigates the roles of emergence theory in landscape architectural discourse. For the purposes of the course, emergence is considered as the development of new and/or different conditions as a result of disturbance. Disturbance can take many forms, and the phenomena that are subject to disturbance are many and varied. Landscapes are continually disturbed by social, economic, and physical irruptions, but cognitive structures, perceptual frameworks and cultural values are also subject to turbulence that, as with landscape disturbance, often leads to innovation, novelty and resilience. The course will explain what emergence theory is, where it comes from, how it relates to environmental design in general, and how it has - or could - change the way we design human and nonhuman inhabitations. Through readings, presentations and discussions, students will be able to connect the rise of emergence theory in cultures of contemporary thought to its application in practice. The main theme of the course is the potential for emergence theory to enable us to relate qualitatively different modes of existence (human; nonhuman) to each other and through the connections thus established improve the lifeworlds of all. The structure of the course is based around ten key concepts of emergence, as follows: open systems, situation, initial conditions, assemblage, nature cultures, difference, field theories, disturbance, morphogenesis, formless. Each student will investigate one of these concepts and present their findings to the class.