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THEORETICAL CONCEPTS OF LANDSCAPE:

INTRODUCTION

A design workshop is an opportunity to create a different learning space, approaching knowledge from another perspective.

Students come from high schools where knowledge has been taught in a linear, sequential, analytical, and discursive manner, which is highly characteristic of spoken language. For years, they have prioritized words as their primary means of communication. We all know that a five-year-old child draws excellently, but by the age of ten, they have completely forgotten how.

The student must learn a new language—one that is not discursive but rather linked to creativity and representation. It is a shift from the written word, which represents language, to the graphic, which represents space.

We understand Landscape as a visual reference—present, permanent, yet mutable. It is defined as a constant metamorphosis. However, we cannot consider Landscape as an element separate from Architecture and Urbanism. In my opinion, contemporary spatial management does not treat Architecture and Landscape as autonomous elements. They do not compete in forms and styles; instead, they engage in dialogue.

This perspective promotes an integrative vision of both professions, each enabling the existence of the other.

This concept synthesizes a "new space of thought," an updated perspective that views every action on the natural environment as a cultural construction (as a constructed ideology). In this way, architecture and landscape belong to a new conceptual unit, creating a space for human action.

The concept of Urban Landscape, a central topic of reflection developed from the second half of the 20th century by modern landscape designers and architects, was driven in Europe by the reconstruction of many cities after the World Wars and in America by the rapid demographic growth. However, it began to undergo serious alterations due to the strong decentralization processes in major cities.

Human concern and awareness regarding natural resources, the use of the landscape as an element to mitigate environmental pollution, and the search for new architectural forms and concepts to improve quality of life lead us to reflect not only on urban environments but also on the growth of cities toward a more ecological and decentralized landscape.

Based on these thought processes, the workshop focuses on reflecting on the landscape: analyzing situations at different scales throughout the academic program and overlapping interventions in urban and peri-urban landscapes, constantly encouraging students to question similar scale-related issues in different work environments.

Design should be conceived as a tool for thought—not to accept reality, but on the contrary, to question and optimize it, adapting to new social, technological, and cultural changes.

The workshop is a space for students and teachers to develop themselves. No one teaches; we all learn. Design is a tool for thought—it is the medium through which, as intellectuals, we define how we want to live.

As writer Jorge Luis Borges once said, we cannot choose the time we live in, but we can choose how we want to live. So, let us use our tool—design—to tell the world how we want to live.

We are already immersed in the 21st century, in what is known as the knowledge society. Accepting that content is temporary and therefore variable, it is subject to change based on social demands and the corresponding responses that the profession must provide.

The education of Bachelor's in Landscape Planning and Design graduates with a solid foundation in both project-based work and its theoretical and practical components, ensuring proper professional development—both for current practice and for future adaptations to emerging social needs.

The formation of professionals with critical thinking skills and reflective capacity, enabling them to provide sustainable solutions through landscape design in response to society’s future challenges.

Encouraging future Bachelor’s in Landscape Planning and Design graduates to engage with social needs through teaching and research, making these needs subjects of study and generating proposals in response.

Providing an integrated education, encompassing project-based, theoretical, and practical knowledge, to prepare students for a proper professional practice.

Training the eye to develop an analytical, inquisitive, and integrative visual approach.

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The development of the discipline is structured through thematic units consisting of:

- Active Virtual Theoretical Classes:

These will be conducted online and led by both faculty members and guest lecturers who have relevant theoretical expertise in the subject being studied.

- Interactive Virtual Practical Classes:

These classes will take place via ZOOM or other similar communication platforms, where theoretical knowledge and thought processes are built through debate and participatory discussions between students and faculty, fostering continuous feedback. The aim is to construct a theory of project-based thinking, rather than a rigid academic doctrine.

- Didactic Classes: "Landscape Clinics"

This hands-on learning experience unfolds over two sessions. The first session is held on a Thursday, lasting two hours, where emerging or established professionals are invited to present their theories, projects, and practical approaches to landscape design.

After the presentation, the class is divided into vertical groups, meaning teams composed of students from all four academic levels. Each pair of vertical groups is assigned to two instructors (a professor and a teaching assistant). The number of groups varies each year based on enrollment.

A specific site for intervention is selected in collaboration with the invited professional. Students begin working on their proposal based on the expert’s insights. They have five days, including the weekend, to develop their design solutions. On the following Tuesday, they must submit their work digitally and present their ideas to the invited professionals and the course director, who will provide feedback and critiques.

The purpose of these clinics is not only to allow students to learn from professionals but also to offer them a unique opportunity to receive direct critiques and insights from industry experts. Additionally, these sessions provide a mutual learning experience, as the invited professionals gain valuable perspectives from students.

"No one teaches, we all learn."

Since the workshop was founded in 2010, as a continuation of the Vila Workshop initiated in 2001, we have invited design firms that do not traditionally teach at the University of Buenos Aires to participate.