Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
do not think of grading as having much to do with design, at least at the
beginning of the course. Their impression is that design studio is about
design, and the site-grading course is about math. When they come to
the grading class they turn off the design side of their brains. It seems
they set aside what they have learned in design studio when working
on grading exercises and projects. I go out of my way, during the early
meetings of the landscape site-grading course, to stress the importance
of design and to explain, verbally and with visual examples, how site
grading is fundamental to achieving creative as well as functionally
appropriate, responsive landscape designs. The process of grading and
the exploration of reshaping the land can inform design.
the importance of GradinG in deSiGn
Students readily understand the need for, and importance of, design stu-
dio courses in the curriculum. And of course they spend most of their
waking hours—including late into the night—on their design projects.
When a design project is due, students will be working on their designs
in my grading class. I have worked to figure out how to reprogram
design students to understand and believe in the importance of land-
scape site grading during their academic preparation, because they will
surely come to realize grading's important role
after graduation, during their early professional
careers.
I have given all this a lot of thought, asking
why grading often takes a back seat to design
and some other courses. I have come up with a
number of possible explanations. A majority of
design students are visual learners, but grading
texts do not approach the subject of landscape
site grading in visual terms. The nonvisual
approach used in existing textbooks employs
Figure 1.4
Grading involves design and can be the
generative basis of an outstanding site design
