PD Primer - PennDesign - University of Pennsylvania

survival guide
If you came here thinking that landscape architecture
is all about restoring riparian habitat, think again.
While you can explore more typical ecological restoration
issues in studios and electives, Penn’s take on
ecology is more holistic, considering all the givens of
a site—people, traffic, industry, program—as components
of an ‘organizational Ecology’.
Food Trucks. This is where you will eat most of your
meals. You’re lucky because there are two food trucks
parked right behind Meyerson: “Magic Carpet” and
“Salt and Pepper.” Just watch out for Food Truck Fatigue
Syndrome and get yourself some Fresh Groceries
once in awhile.
The Garden project (the first half of your 502 studio)
can be an eye-opener for those who are more often
interested in large scale urban design. Don’t underestimate
the power that a small work can have on its larger
urban context.
Penn’s media courses are unique among landscape
programs—especially the Hand drawing instruction.
Especially valuable are the emphases on drawing movement
and transformation. Even if you think you can’t
draw, or prefer the computer already, take the opportunity
to learn from your own hands.
Your studio Internet connection offers more than an
opportunity to IM the people you never have time to
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see anymore. There is much on the internet that you will
find invaluable in your studio work—satellite photos
(Google Earth, terraserver.microsoft.com), topographic
maps (topozone.com), and stock photography (gettyimages.com)
for photomontages.
It may be hard to believe, but a harsh Jury is not the end
of the world. The worst jury is the one that doesn’t talk
about your work. Do yourself a favor: get some sleep the
night before you present and make sure they talk about
your project.
While Kleptomania isn’t exactly common in the studio,
it’s a good idea to keep your computer shackled to
your desk and your digital camera in your locker. There’s
nothing worse than paying twice for something when
you’re in the red.
The LARP office usually has some free candy. And
information about job postings. And very little, actually,
to do with Live Action Role Playing (whew). Stephanie
and Diane, who are pretty much the best thing since
free candy and job postings, are always ready to help
you solve your latest administrative adventure. Just next
to this is the mail room, where you can throw in your
almost-late rent, your newest competition entry, and job
applications.
Meyerson: Love to hate it, Hate to love it. Doesn’t really
matter, it is a rite of passage. And it binds us all, past,
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