VISUAL THINKING AND THE TEACHING OF PRECEDENT ANALYSIS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN

In this paper we will focus on the relation between precedent analysis and visual thinking in teaching. At the Faculty of Architecture in Delft, precedent analysis was introduced in architectural education by Ali Guney. Basic idea of precedent analysis is to learn from earlier experiences by systematic and explicit analysis of plans. Guney is extending precedent analysis further into landscape architecture and urban design.
Visual thinking as a concept in design disciplines is rather new; it has been stimulated in design research by Cross, by research in the cognitive sciences and in the research of the role of hand drawing in design. Core element of visual thinking is the idea that drawing, visualising and abstraction are means to acquire new knowledge. The representation is crucial; different representations can represent different information that can lead to different knowledge. Here also the direct relation with precedent analysis gets in sight; different types of analysis and different types of representation can lead to new knowledge.
The main research question for this paper is how to teach precedent analysis in a design curriculum and at the same time finding a balance between research and design. In the first part we will pay attention to how precedent analysis in architecture is different from landscape architecture. Distinction between different levels, the dynamics of landscape form and design are key elements that come back in the teaching approach. In the second part we will shortly introduce visual thinking in a design context and what role it could play in design education. Drawing and trained observation of landscape form play an important role in this domain of design. In the third part, the core of the paper, we pay attention to the teaching approach for precedent analysis in landscape architecture and urban design. Key element is insight into and representation of dynamics of landscape form, perception and design. In our experiences so far in the Master's course 'Visualisation for landscape architecture and urban design', we have developed a series of exercises for visual thinking like storyboards, mapping and sequences. These exercises form the basis for further development of teaching of precedent analysis.
Main conclusion is that learning by doing is a key element in teaching of precedent analysis. Equally important is that exercises are designed in such a way that students gain insight into the importance and technique of precedent analysis by self-discovery in working out the exercises, not just by learning 'how to'.