Landscape Architecture Workshop Opens Collaborative Design to All Ages

The Landscape Architecture Outreach Workshop gives students of all ages the chance to explore their creativity and problem-solving skills.

Modeled on design engagement activities landscape architects use when working with the public, the workshop was developed by Landscape Architecture Assistant Professor Isaac Cohen and Associate Professor Rob Holmes.

“I developed the activity to both introduce students to the elements that landscape architects use in our design work and to be accessible and engaging to a wide variety of audiences,” Cohen said. “One of the tripping points with individuals that are unfamiliar with landscape architecture or design is that they think they aren’t creative or don’t know how to draw.”

The participants are given a blank park drawing and a set of elements like trees, picnic tables, play equipment and sports courts. They arrange the elements or draw new ones to create the park they would want in their neighborhood, by their school or for a specific community.

“We have seen some incredibly creative responses from students, things that I would never have imagined a middle schooler could have come up with,” he said.

CADC Recruitment and Scholarship Manager Katherine Buck Chastain has run the hour-long workshop for the last four years, working with groups from kindergarten to high school and tailoring the sessions to age and learning objective.

With the Science Matters Summer Academy, kindergarten and first graders used the activity to talk about plant life and basic biology, while a 3^rd and 4^th grade Girl Scouts learned about how public space benefits communities and earned a badge.

As students get older, the workshop incorporates more complex components, like critiques, design iterations and public speaking, to get a feel for what it’s like to be in one of CADC’s programs.

Fifth and sixth graders from the gifted program at Wetumpka Middle School designed a park next to their school, while students from Brewbaker Technology Magnate High School in Montgomery learned how landscape architecture utilizes the architecture and engineering basics to design the urban environment.

“The landscape architecture workshop is one of the most versatile sessions we have,” Chastain said. “It highlights the impact that outdoor spaces have in communities.”