Investigations in Landscape

The Thesis Open Day organized by the ISOLA (Indian Society of Landscape Architects) Bangalore Chapter at the IIHS (Indian Institute of Human Settlements), Bangalore was the first of the several Habbas (kannada term for events), that ISOLA Bangalore Chapter is hosting to engage the discipline in varied capacities with the public, as a lead up to the annual conference scheduled for January 2016.

The Thesis Open Day was primarily created as a platform for selected recently graduated students of Landscape Architecture discipline to present their thesis cases in order to give an overview of the scales, issues and methodologies that governs the academic groundwork for the Landscape Architecture profession

The Thesis Open Day evening witnessed presentations by 10 (ten) recent graduates, each positioning their areas of study in their native region that ensured an eclectic mix of contexts across the country ranging from sates of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab. Each thesis case was hypothesised on an environmental concern such as preparation of guidelines of iron ore mining; understanding of livelihoods related agriculture and cultural landscapes; rejuvenation of river systems to address ecological balance; assessment and conservation of wetlands, management of natural resources within urban contexts to even understanding the new typology of urban parks addressing social and environmental inadequacies of 21st century as well as preservation of historical landscapes. (For details of each thesis case download synopsis document).

The sites chosen by the graduates presenting these broader concerns were then testing grounds to strengthen, evaluate and orient their hypothesis arguments through a detailed and exhaustive methodology borrowed heavily from the Ian Mc Harg School of learning. Each presentation made an effective study and understanding of regional natural and biological systems with detailed technical understanding of processes and ecologies across history of related subjects such as riparian ecology, land management, wetland systems, agriculture practices, soil management and traditional water systems. This multi–scalar approach was then filtered down and limited to preparation of guidelines towards management of the natural systems in question. Though the methodology was broadly similar across presentations, there were a couple of cases that engaged more with the spatial attributes of site planning and design with distinctly less engagement with regional and sub- regional issues.

Such an apparent difference in approach and methodology surfaced not the limitations of students but rather an indication of the “disparity in the pedagogy of schools of landscape architecture in the country” – as pointed out by Mr. Mohan Rao. Each approach highlighted some gaps in a more comprehensive engagement with all scales of the landscape discipline i.e. planning, management, programming, design interventions, etc. Most of the cases constructed operate within any two scales of study, at times limiting the impact of the cases and the primary objective of the discipline which, unlike most other academic disciplines, is oriented to work across varied scales to effectively inform the subject under consideration.

The presentations were followed by a moderated interactive session with the audience that comprised of landscape professionals, professionals from different disciplinary backgrounds, faculty of various under graduates institutes in the city as well as undergraduate students. The discussions further challenged not only this pedagogic disparity, but also the very self-imposed limitation of the methodology of landscape architecture discipline to not engage with, as Ms. Anitha Suseelan stated “…with the politics of spaces”. On a similar note, the audience also discussed the opportunities open to landscape architecture academia to engage with people and communities i.e urban dynamics; as most of the cases drew a strict barrier between the urban and the natural. This, though, could possibly be attributed to the methodical understanding of the discipline that borrows heavily from the post-industrial era of comprehending natural systems rather than as an evolved methodology of positioning the discipline in the post neo- liberalization era.

The critical points raised by the audiences are not to be seen as comments questioning the discipline, but an opportunity to relook into the academic pedagogy of the discipline to make it a more evolving discipline and to better position the profession at large. However, what needs more pressing attention is to document these exhaustive and elaborate studies undertaken at the graduate level across the country and make them publicly available to better address academic research as well as inform the profession of landscape architecture.

#bangalaore #landscape #academia #habbas #presentation #society #water