Abstract:

Architecture is a complex and interdisciplinary profession, always changing in relationship with other disciplines, responding to challenges. One of these disciplines in the curriculum of the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning in Timisoara is landscape design. Understanding and borrowing some of the methods and approaches used in landscape design is beneficial for the students in architecture, as it not only enriches their knowledge in general, but also can change the way they relate to other professions and to the landscape, be it urban or rural, natural or man-made.

In some aspects, the landscape architecture profession uses similar methods to architecture: a combination of artistic creativity on one hand and scientific analytical thinking on the other. But the landscape drawing for example is more analytical than architectural drawing, as there are many scientific facts related to landscape structure: geology, topography, soil, vegetation and many others. Some pioneers in architecture landscape as McHarg propose spatial modeling based on analytical extraction of landscape into thematic layers, that can be a very useful toll for architects too.

The article presents the three different disciplines and approaches in our faculty related to landscape architecture and design:
- landscape design 1 - the course of provides basic theoretical knowledge in the field,
- landscape design 2 - is a project-base approach that searches solutions for current issues in urban of Timisoara,
- diploma projects whose major theme is the relationship between architecture, urban planning, landscaping and other related fields.

The different approaches will be presented starting with competencies, objectives, description of the activities, teaching and learning methods, specific methodology and interesting examples from the students work. The emphasis is on the import or creative approach of methodologies that increase not only the capacity of understanding the environment, but also the creativity of architecture students.

As a conclusion, landscape design in architectural Higher Education is a complementary discipline that can change the approach of the profession by future architects.

Keywords:

Landscape design, architecture, design process, Higher Education, interdisciplinary.