COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: LANDSCAPE RESEARCH

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
ARCH 415	C	9	3	0	0	3	6

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	Dr. Joana Dhiamandi jdhiamandi@epoka.edu.al
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Joana Dhiamandi jdhiamandi@epoka.edu.al , Wednesday, 11:00 to 12:30
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Elective
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Integrated second cycle study program in Architecture (5 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	Tuesday, 09:40 to 12:30
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	75%
Course Description:	The still existing approach in architectural and urban design is aiming to provide more efficient, more aesthetical, and safer buildings and urban environments for people. While, this approach is not sustainable enough in the long-run. The goal of this course is to divert the research interest of young professionals towards the landscape approach, in which the built environment is considered complementary to the natural systems of the territory. Landscape approach, fundamentally relies on the most specific local properties of the context at local scale, while being aware of the prevailing challenges of global scale.
Course Objectives:	he main objective of this course is to enable students (future architects & urban planners) to think beyond the built environment. Thus, the goal of this course is to divert the research interest of young professionals towards the landscape approach, in which the built environment is considered complementary to the natural systems of the territory

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Landscape Research
2	Landscape Urbanism
3	Critical Thinking
4	Enviromental Design
5	Agricultural Territory
6	Urban Developmnet
7	Literature Review

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction to Landscape Research
2	n Landscape, Landscape Research, and Landscape Approach
3	Plants and landscape representation
4	Landscape ecology. Video: Home (2009)
5	Planning Green-blue infrastructures and landscape connections
6	How to design the G-B infrastructure. Ecosystem services
7	Nature Based Solutions and sustainability. Green areas and the trasport system
8	Rural landscapes, urban landscapes, and food production
9	Introduction to the Project- Team work.
10	Mapping and indexing. Team work
11	Mid term exams
12	Team work. Map Delivery Standards / Graphical Presentation
13	Team work. Inter-group discussions/ Reporting the Results
14	Final Discussion of the Projects and Papers

Prerequisite(s):	NO
Textbook(s):	(1) Europe, C. O. (2000, October). European landscape convention. In Report and convention. (2) McHarg, I. (1992 [1969]). Design with nature. Washington, D.C.: Wiley. (3) Horvath, P., Barton, D. N., Hauglin, E. A., & Ellefsen, H. W. (2017). Blue-Green Factor (BGF) mapping in QGIS. User Guide and Documentation.
Additional Literature:	(4) Strang, G. L. (1996). Infrastructure as landscape [infrastructure as landscape, landscape as infrastructure]. Places, 10(3). (5) Nijhuis, S., & Jauslin, D. (2015). Urban landscape infrastructures. Designing operative landscape structures for the built environment. Research in Urbanism Series, 3, 13-34. (6) Juhola, S. (2018). Planning for a green city: The Green Factor tool. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 254-258. (7) Dennis, M., Barlow, D., Cavan, G., Cook, P., Gilchrist, A., Handley, J., ... & Lindley, S. (2018). Mapping urban green infrastructure: A novel landscape-based approach to incorporating land use and land cover in the mapping of human-dominated systems. Land, 7(1), 17. (8) Kabisch, N., Frantzeskaki, N., Pauleit, S., Naumann, S., Davis, M., Artmann, M., ... & Zaunberger, K. (2016). Nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban areas: perspectives on indicators, knowledge gaps, barriers, and opportunities for action. Ecology and Society, 21(2). (9) Daily, G. C. (1997). Nature’s services (Vol. 19971). Island Press, Washington, (10) DC.Bolund, P., & Hunhammar, S. (1999). Ecosystem services in urban areas. Ecological economics, 29(2), 293-301. (11) da Silva, J. M. C., & Wheeler, E. (2017). Ecosystems as infrastructure. Perspectives in ecology and conservation, 15(1), 32-35. (12) Acierno, A. (2019). Chromatic city. Applying s-RGB Design to contemporary space. Napoli: Fedoa Press. (13) Thompson, J. W., and Sorvig, K. (2008). Sustainable Landscape Construction. 2nd ed. Washington DC: Island Press. Chapter 1, 1-37. (14) Dramstad, W. E., Olson ,J. D,. and Forman R.T.T. (1996). Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning. Harvard University. 9-50.
Laboratory Work:	YES
Computer Usage:	Yes, QGIS and design softwares
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	The student is expected to become aware of the potentials of landscape research and approach in finding holistic solutions to current complex global challenges
2	Being able to relate the global scale problems like climate change, global warming, and socio-economic crisis with the local scale consequences of specific territories.
3	Understanding the basics of Geographic Information Systems [GIS] and its utility in territorial analysis, planning, and management
4	Understanding the importance of the Blue-Green infrastructure [BGI] and its connectivity in order to supply diverse ecosystem services [ES] as nature based solutions [NBS] for current urban challenges.
5	Student will experience a research based learning and problem oriented research process.
6	Delivering tangible/ measurable assessment on BGI of Tirana
7	Nature Based Solutions and sustainability. Green areas and the trasport system

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Integrated second cycle study program in Architecture (5 years) Program
1	Speaking and Writing Skills Ability to read, write, listen, and speak effectively	5
2	Critical Thinking Skills Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse points of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions, and test them against relevant criteria and standards	5
3	Graphics Skills Ability to use appropriate representational media, including freehand drawing and computer technology, to convey essential formal elements at each stage of the programming and design process	5
4	Research Skills Ability to gather, assess, record, and apply relevant information in architectural course work	5
5	Formal Ordering Systems Understanding of the fundamentals of visual perception and the principles and systems of order that inform two- and three-dimensional design, architectural composition, and urban design	5
6	Fundamental Design Skills Ability to use basic architectural principles in the design of buildings, interior spaces, and sites	5
7	Collaborative Skills Ability to recognize the varied talent found in interdisciplinary design project teams in professional practice and work in collaboration with other students as members of a design team	5
8	International Traditions Understanding of the International architectural canons and traditions in architecture, landscape and urban design, as well as the climatic, technological, culture-economic, and other cultural factors that have shaped and sustained them	5
9	National and Regional Traditions Understanding of national traditions and the local regional heritage in architecture, landscape design and urban design, including the vernacular tradition	5
10	Use of Precedents Ability to incorporate relevant precedents into architecture and urban design projects	5
11	Conservation and Restoration of Historical Districts Knowledge on historical districts and the gain of conservation consciousness documentation of historical buildings and the understanding the techniques which are needed to prepare restoration projects.	5
12	Human Behavior Understanding of the theories and methods of inquiry that seek to clarify the relationship between human behavior and the physical environment	5
13	Human Diversity Understanding of the diverse needs, values, behavioral norms, physical ability, and social and spatial patterns that characterize different cultures and individuals and the implication of this diversity for the societal roles and responsibilities of architects	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Homework	2	20
Project	1	30
Term Paper	1	20
Final Exam	0	0
Attendance		10
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	9	3	27
Mid-terms	1	3	3
Assignments	4	12	48
Final examination	1	3	3
Other	7	3	21
Total Work Load:			150
Total Work Load/25(h):			6
ECTS Credit of the Course:			6

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

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