At the research group of Landscape Architecture and –Urbanism, University of Copenhagen we propose to conduct a PhD course with a focus on design- and practice based research as academic research methodologies within landscape architecture, urban design, architecture and related design based fields.

This course will introduce PhD students into how to develop and produce doctoral level design or practice based research and to key issues in landscape architectural design research. The PhD course is aimed at students who are already enrolled as full time PhD students at University of Copenhagen and other national as well as international universities.

Course theme:

Synthesizing complex understandings of space, program and process through the practices of design and project development is the core methods within the discipline of landscape architecture and urban design. Through the process of designing and making through graphic tools and interaction within a both physical and social context it is in the discipline to make and transform the physical environment. Thus the design process and project development is in itself a way of analyzing and unfolding complex knowledge. Investigating academic questions from a perspective of practice through designing and making, hence offers a unique position from which to explore and analyze themes and phenomenon in and around landscape architecture and urban design in close proximity and over time. However it is also a challenging task that on one hand requires design skills and exploratory methods, but simultaneously needs academic structure, discipline and a solid theoretical foundation.

In this course we want to offer PhD students who conduct PhD projects through methods of design and practice the necessary frameworks and tools to manage and progress their PhD projects within an academic context. Through this embedded position within the context of the investigation field, research questions can be framed and explored through methodologies grounded in design based research but also through theoretical and methodological frameworks such as design anthropology and actor network theory ANT. While the course is structured around design based research in landscape architecture and urban design these related fields offer methodological approached that can support and enhance design research.

Course content:

The course is set up as a one week full time course from 2 to 6 October 2017 with a combination of lectures, presentations by PhD students, group discussions and workshop exercises. The course will open up through research projects research projects and ideas and then work though developing confidence and skills in doing and thinking about design and practice based research to conceptualise the various components of a design research proposal. The course will be centered around student’s own research projects tracking ideas, desires, motivations, abstracts, proposals and concepts. Throughout the course and course activities students will examine and refine their own PhD research project.
At the end of the 5 course days students will present a refined proposal for their research to the rest of the group and invited guests / critics.

We expect to attract a group of 12-16 PhD students from our own research group, as well as students from other Danish and international landscape architecture and urban design research institutions.

International guests:

The course will be supported by international acclaimed lecturers as well as lecturers from University of Copenhagen that are experts within the field.

Peter Connolly associate professor in landscape architecture has been a key figure in establishing “research by design” program at RMIT, Melbourne and is the founder of the term “landscape urbanism”. Connolly will co-host the course and share his expert knowledge on design based research through lectures, seminars and workshop exercises supporting the framing and refining of students PhD projects.


Subject area:

The course is focused on landscape architectural design research thinking but will also include themes
that are centrally important to landscape architectural design research (and landscape architectural
urbanism)– including:

- key theoretical notions and aesthetic and representational techniques
- theorizing what a problem is
- theoretical notions & problems specific to landscape architecture
- the dominant contemporary design assemblages of landscape architecture and their problematic tendencies
- etc.

Scientific content:

Presentations as the basis for seminar discussions include:

- Notions of Design and Practice Based Research
- Differences from more traditional modes of research
- What is particular about landscape architectural design research?
- Theorising Design Research
- Key texts on design research (based on readings given out prior to the course)
- Some common misconceptions about design and practice based research.
- Design & Practice Based Research techniques
- Design & Practice Based Research techniques for landscape architecture
- Assemblage thinking and types of assemblages relevant to landscape architectural design research?
- Key landscape architectural problems to consider

Workshops & Tasks:

- Initial Downloading: Preoccupations, Motivations and Propensities
- Quickly generating an initial research question?
- How to identify relevant past practices and thought?
- How to construct a design research rationale & positioning?
- How to construct design research method?
- Writing and refining an abstract?
- Writing a research proposal?

Applicants must submit an extended abstract of their PhD work as part of their signing up for the course including a description of how design and practice plays a role as methodology in their research. This should be send by email to Bettina Lamm, bela@ign.ku.dk. Course participants will be selected based on the relevance of their PhD topic and quality of extended abstract.