Landscape Architecture - Morgan State University

More documents

Recommendations

Info

such as creating hard surfaces along astream or the heat island effects of buildings.When they graduate, they have thegraphic and verbal skills to communicatethese ideas to neighborhood groups. It isnor surprising, given the program's longstandingfocus on public service, that manyalumni currently work in public agenciesin the Mid-Atlantic region.The MSU ethos also means understandinghow planning decisions affect a fullrange ofpeople. "Because we work withininner Baltimore City neighborhoods ofcolor, the issue ofenvironmental justice expandsthe definition of sustainability,"Smith says. "We want students to understandthat the poor want the same thingsas the rich relative to healthy and clean environments,"he adds. Community-basedplanning and design projects are a majortool for this effort and one of the MLA program'sgreat strengths.DianeJones, ASLA, who came ro MSU asan assistant professor in 2006, leads theprogram's evolving discussion on environmentalaccess and equity. "I lived andworked in New Orleans for 18 years andhad my own practice there for 1l, so myteaching is very much shaped by that experience,"she says. "Baltimore is very similarto New Orleans in interesting ways ...both old cities, located on water, with verystrong cultures. I always teU people, if Katrinahad hit Balrimore, it would have beenvery much the same...a lot of people dependon mass transit here and would havebeen unable to get out."In OctOber 2009 she took her Studio Vclass (an urban design workshop) to NewOrleans to work on a joint project with S[Udentsfrom the MLA program at LouisianaState University. They worked on designconcepts for Claiborne Avenue, where theconstruction of Interstate 10 divided thehistoric Treme community. Students collaboratedwith community aod governmentleaders to envision the corridor withourthe intrusive interstare. Before the trip,Jones said she hoped her students wouldget the chance to explore how landscape architectscan really shape social and environmentalequiry.Closer to home, Jones asks students to"look beyond form and function" to explorehow design decisions affect "accessibility,equity, and environment." For example, sheCIRCLE 95 ON READER SERVICE CARD OR GO TO HTTP://INFO.HOTIMS.C0M/23500-95ERltA SOCIBY OF lANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS36 Esm W. WASHIHTO DC 20001-3135202-898-2444 •FAX 202-89.2285 WWWlSI181GDECEMBER 2009 land eape Arehllec.turel 47
CAMPUS PROFILEis working with students in preservationplanning for Mt. Auburn,one ofthe most historically significantAfrican American cemeteriesin the Mid-Atlantic region. Shechallenges them to define "historicpreservation" and "sustainability"with f,1r broader socioeconomicimplications than normally examinedin landscape history and preservationpractice.With the school's focus on theBaltimore region and the socialecologicaloutlook ofurban sustainability,MSU students have thechance to apply design principlesagain and again at sites of manyscales and economic uses. The program'sthird full-time professor,Paul Voos, ASLA, graduated from MorganState's MIA program himselfand essentiallygrew up in the profession surrounded byBaltimore's neighborhoods. Of the landscapearchitecture taught at MSU today, hesays, it's "not just about signature buildings,signature parks, and the grand boulevards;it's about the everyday fimctioning environment.Urban landscapes are the cwnulativeofthe special and the mundane." Kurt Culbertson,FASLA, who recently served on theMLA program's accreditation review team,affirms the f,'lculry's claims. "If someone isinterested in the social and economic transformationof urban communities throughdesign," he says of the MSU program,"there's probably no better venue."With Baltimore at their doorstep, theMLA students occasionally find their ownprojects to test out ideas. Jean Mellot,Student ASLA, a tbird-year student withcollege-age children and a natural sense ofleadership, recently organized a studentledcharrette to design a nature garden fora nearby elementary school. The idea, sheexplains, is for high school students fromthe nearby City College High School toteach environmental studies to the gradeschoolers in the garden.Several of the MLA students I met dutingthe weekend charrette for tbe gardenhave master's degrees and doctorates in otherfields including clinical and social psyBecause many of the students have already held post·college jobs and careers, they areeager to learn practical applications that complement their emerging academic knowledge.Thus, they enthusiastically attend field trips to materials suppliers and organize volunteercho'logy. Two work as administrators atJohns Hopkins Universiry. They come fromother careers and years of Life experience andresearch in other disciplines. For this reason,most ofthe students are hlUlgry to learnabout the tactile and practical applicationof landscape archi tecture. "All oflIS get fascinatedby the technical part of design,"Mellot says. "Every time there is a field tripto go see a concrete plant or something, wea11 go," even ifit's nor required. "We knowthe difference berween kinds ofconcrete finishtechnically, but not hands on."design projects for Baltimore schools and charities."Historically, the programhas attracted priInarilynlature, "nontraditional'students," who sharestudios with dle handfulof students who enrolledjust out of college.Lo11y Tai, FASLA, also part of the recentaccreditation team, says that the students'age range is one of MSU's unique traits."Historically, the program has attracted primarilymature, 'nontraditional' students,"she notes, who share studios with the handfulofstudents who enroLled just Out ofcollege.This can be both good and bad. I noticedthat many of the younger studentsbecome like younger siblings to tbeir peerswho organize field trips, tell stories, talkpolitics in Baltimore, and prize being in nature.These relationships are something thatcannot be programmed in the curricula.The downside, as some of the faculty pointout, is thar the older students can inadvertently"smother" the creativity of theiryounger classmates who may try to mimicthem. For this reason, they encourage all ofthe students to develop their own ideas andgraphic styles. "This is a time to explore,"says Smith, "not always to be mentored."This year's accreditation process pointedout several challenges the MSU programneeds to overcome. Facilities ate poor, withan aging 1950s building, outdated ventilation,and minimal lounge and gallery space.In addition, there's a lack of computer481 Landscape r It dura D£CIMDU 2001
Page 2 and 3: , I ATTENDED theited[LandsGlpe Arch
Page 4 and 5: CAPUS PROFILEcurrent MLA students h
Page 8 and 9: CAMPUS PROFILEsupport staffing, alt

Landscape Architecture - Morgan State University

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?