有影響力的設(shè)計

作者：弗里茨?斯坦納

“預(yù)測未來最好的方法是設(shè)計未來。”——巴克敏斯特·富勒

設(shè)計代表著人類適應(yīng)變化和創(chuàng)造美好未來的最有力的工具之一。設(shè)計既包含構(gòu)想理想的未來住所和對象的過程，也包含為達到這個未來理想而需要的對其過程的管理。設(shè)計師的信息庫幫助他們知道怎樣做有效、怎樣做無效，來指導(dǎo)這個過程。好的城市設(shè)計和景觀設(shè)計需參考以往的設(shè)計案例，但是也需要完全了解該特定地區(qū)的自然、文化、經(jīng)濟和政治條件。要想將這些復(fù)雜的信息成功地結(jié)合起來則需要熟練設(shè)計師來展現(xiàn)其藝術(shù)性的創(chuàng)造。

DesignWorkshop擁有由眾多優(yōu)秀設(shè)計師組成的專業(yè)團隊，因此一直在建筑環(huán)境領(lǐng)域引領(lǐng)積極變化、走在行業(yè)前沿位置，是設(shè)計行業(yè)的領(lǐng)袖公司之一。DesignWorkshop起源于學術(shù)領(lǐng)域：作為北卡羅來納州立大學的年輕教授，喬?波特和丹?恩賽因帶領(lǐng)學生和同事合力組織了一些集中設(shè)計活動來解決實際項目，并且在1969年創(chuàng)辦公司時也以這種設(shè)計方法為要點。該公司的名稱DesignWorkshop則體現(xiàn)了這個帶學術(shù)性的工作室的合作氛圍。在DesignWorkshop創(chuàng)辦的時候，當時大多數(shù)公司都是以創(chuàng)辦人的名字命名的。以設(shè)計理念及合作方法命名從一開始就奠定了其實踐模式。在成功服務(wù)于私人客戶和政府部門的同時，DesignWorkshop仍然保持著其學術(shù)定位，強調(diào)的是理論和度量。他們著眼于分析和圖形表達，每一個項目都是從項目主要矛盾陳述和主題陳述開始，明確面臨的主要挑戰(zhàn)，并提出可能的解決方案。因此，設(shè)計團隊能夠以相同的框架模式著手處理每一個項目，但也能夠根據(jù)每一個項目的獨特情況靈活地作出調(diào)整。

雖然不同的項目可以采用共同的框架，但是，每一份設(shè)計都必須對其特定的情況作出回應(yīng)。在這一點上，設(shè)計項目類似于科學實驗，分析結(jié)構(gòu)可預(yù)先計劃，但結(jié)果未知。

理論上，DesignWorkshop是通過修改和優(yōu)化可持續(xù)發(fā)展的三重底線而明確其設(shè)計理想?？沙掷m(xù)發(fā)展的支持者主張在生態(tài)利益、經(jīng)濟利益和社會公平這“三大利益”中維持平衡。DesignWorkshop的DWLegacyDesign?設(shè)計理念包含“綜合性、可持續(xù)性的思維方式”，把環(huán)境、經(jīng)濟、社區(qū)和藝術(shù)融為一體。藝術(shù)通過五官將我們與周圍環(huán)境相連。藝術(shù)通過人的感官體驗把人和環(huán)境聯(lián)系在一起。這些聯(lián)系對可持續(xù)發(fā)展至關(guān)重要，因為人們只有對某個地方有感情，才更有可能去保護這個地方，并將其世世代代傳承下去。美感呈現(xiàn)的是我們的文化價值觀，因此對實現(xiàn)社會質(zhì)量和環(huán)境質(zhì)量是至關(guān)重要的。

DesignWorkshop會仔細考量其項目產(chǎn)生的影響。每個項目一開始都會舉行一場以探索為導(dǎo)向的會議，在會議期間，設(shè)計團隊會明確主題及希望達到的結(jié)果，然后選擇相關(guān)的度量指標來實現(xiàn)預(yù)期效果。該公司已制定出原創(chuàng)的設(shè)計度量指標表，來指導(dǎo)團隊明確其可持續(xù)發(fā)展目標并衡量對環(huán)境、經(jīng)濟、社區(qū)和藝術(shù)產(chǎn)生的影響。除了其自身的度量指標之外，DesignWorkshop還采用美國綠色建筑委員會的“針對鄰里發(fā)展的能源與環(huán)境設(shè)計先導(dǎo)”(LEED?ND)及可持續(xù)網(wǎng)站倡議TM(SITES?)績效測量系統(tǒng)。DesignWorkshop在早期就采用了LEED?ND，并作為試點工程來協(xié)助開發(fā)SITES?。該公司采用這些度量指標的目的是確保其團隊盡可能全面地、整體地考慮到其項目產(chǎn)生的影響。度量指標有助于指導(dǎo)設(shè)計師從整合、創(chuàng)新和試驗的角度提出問題。此外，該公司衡量這些影響的目的是評估成敗、了解產(chǎn)生的價值并幫助完善未來的設(shè)計。對項目產(chǎn)生的影響進行衡量，這對建筑及景觀建筑的循證設(shè)計發(fā)展體系至關(guān)重要。

跟其學術(shù)界同仁一樣，DesignWorkshop也力求擴展其景觀建筑、城市設(shè)計和城鎮(zhèn)規(guī)劃方面的知識。DesignWorkshop的員工是反思型實踐者，他們通過仔細、公開的評估他們的項目而增加專業(yè)方面的知識。作為一個執(zhí)業(yè)事務(wù)所，他們當然必須關(guān)注其業(yè)務(wù)的可持續(xù)性，但他們也力求提升其專業(yè)知識。最好的設(shè)計師能夠邊學邊做，從而通過反思修改其實踐。對自己的工作進行誠懇的分析需要的是自律和虛心。

我很幸運能夠認識DesignWorkshop的大部分領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。他們無一例外地通過服務(wù)于景觀建筑基金會、美國景觀建筑協(xié)會(ASLA)專業(yè)人士及學生評委會、《景觀建筑雜志》編輯部、ASLACEO圓桌會議、文化景觀基金會、美國規(guī)劃協(xié)會分部以及其他許多專業(yè)組織而獲得專業(yè)上的提升。值得注目的是，他們對歷史有著敏銳的觸覺。他們既從自己以往工作中的先例學習，也在前輩奧姆斯特德(主要在美國創(chuàng)辦了景觀建筑和規(guī)劃專業(yè))和伊恩?麥克哈格(創(chuàng)建了一套基于生態(tài)學的新型設(shè)計和規(guī)劃理論)確定的領(lǐng)域范圍內(nèi)上下求索。

DesignWorkshop的專業(yè)人士是其同齡人的良師益友和熱心支持者。他們在DesignWorkshop內(nèi)部以及世界各地的大學傳播知識和技能。例如，DesignWorkshop有一項稱之為“設(shè)計你自己”的公司內(nèi)部員工學習機制。幾乎每個星期他們都會召開“午餐及學習”研討會，是由公司內(nèi)部的專家員工主持，來反思與討論自己的一些經(jīng)歷與所得。此外，他們還特邀外部專家參加“午餐及學習”研討會，著眼于當下論題。DesignWorkshop的六個辦事處(美國阿斯彭和丹佛、科羅拉多；奧斯丁、德克薩斯州；阿什維爾、北卡羅來納州；塔霍湖、內(nèi)華達州；鹽湖城、猶他州)通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)、音頻和視頻會議相聯(lián)系，這樣可以使不同辦事處的設(shè)計師能夠在一起學習和分享知識，從而強調(diào)他們是“一個帶有長廊的辦事處”，而不是六個辦事處。

在外部，DesignWorkshop創(chuàng)建了一項駐院老師計劃，從而強化其學術(shù)聯(lián)系，并與“設(shè)計周”的各大院校通力合作，培養(yǎng)學生、實踐者和教授之間的相互交流。實質(zhì)上，這些“設(shè)計周”有助于復(fù)興并延伸丹?恩賽因和喬?波特在20世紀60年代創(chuàng)建的模式。他們舉辦協(xié)作型研討會的目的是使學生接觸到實踐者的方法和思路。

將一個人的工作寫下來恐怕是最單純的反思形式。在DesignWorkshop，這樣的作品——這樣的反思——尤為棘手，因為參與寫作的不只一人。與集體設(shè)計一樣(所有好設(shè)計都是集體的，即使是掛在“明星建筑師”的名字下的設(shè)計)，集體作品需要付出、接受和讓步。這并不意味著設(shè)計寫作無法傳達強有力的觀點。在過去10年里，該公司已出版了四部作品：《美國西部的新園林》(2003年)、《設(shè)計走向完美》(2007年)、《精品花園》(2010年)和《品質(zhì)恒久的景觀》(2013年)。通過出版著作，DesignWorkshop不僅表達了其自身的理念，而且有助于專業(yè)探索，并允許大家對其項目進行批判與檢驗。DesignWorkshop當然是行勝于言。不久前，我和托德?約翰遜(DesignWorkshop的首席設(shè)計官)一起為《景觀建筑雜志》寫了幾篇文章。這要求我們彼此之間相互合作，但更重要的是其中也涉及到與以下知名設(shè)計師(和知名人士)的合作：勞里?奧林、鮑勃?漢納、凱羅爾?富蘭克林、萊斯利?薩奧爾、科林?富蘭克林、羅爾夫?薩奧爾、喬安妮?杰克遜和塞西莉?基恩，我們也對其作品進行了概要分析。我們試圖將托德?哈佛設(shè)計研究院的觀點與漢納?奧林、安德羅伯根、杰克遜?基恩以及我自己融匯受麥克哈格影響的賓夕法尼亞大學生態(tài)觀結(jié)合在一起。哈佛研究院與賓夕法尼亞大學之間關(guān)于設(shè)計理念的學術(shù)競爭類似于中國高等院校之間的競爭，如：清華大學與北京大學。我和托德的工作嘗試略顯大膽，但最終是令人愉悅并有所收獲的。我們通過對特定項目的審視，力求了解人類應(yīng)用生態(tài)學知識產(chǎn)生的效果。我們也想了解生態(tài)學知識在已實現(xiàn)的設(shè)計中是否明顯。那么，設(shè)計范圍內(nèi)的生態(tài)學知識僅僅是設(shè)計師帶進工作室的那些自己早已獲得的經(jīng)驗和知識還是在項目背景下的研究成果呢？此外，我和托德對設(shè)計師對其工作的反思深感好奇。我們的書寫過程也是托德及其他DesignWorkshop同事每日的工作情況的一個縮影。他們無所畏懼，大膽嘗試，也能夠享受其帶來的快樂和成功。DesignWorkshop致力于設(shè)計知識的提升，正如我和托德為《景觀建筑雜志》寫文章所倡導(dǎo)的一樣。

雖然他們的工作相當大膽——對德州人深愛的德克薩斯州藍洞的游泳場所進行改造、在新墨西哥的創(chuàng)建一個嶄新社區(qū)蘭喬維埃羅、利用河濱公園為丹佛市建造一個新的中心——但是，這些DesignWorkshop的項目都非常適當?shù)娜谌氲狡渌诘木坝^環(huán)境。這些項目不融入景觀，又改造景觀。這些項目既融入景觀，又塑造景觀。這些作品的氛圍是為當?shù)鼐用穸鴦?chuàng)建的，而不僅僅是為了設(shè)計師而創(chuàng)建。

猶他州自然歷史博物館最近的一個深受大家喜愛的項目，雖然該項目并沒有在接下來的一系列文章中提到。該博物館是與Ennead建筑師事務(wù)所共同創(chuàng)建的，表現(xiàn)出對猶他州的自然歷史和文化歷史的深刻理解。這種理解凸顯了DesignWorkshop對合作和研究的承諾。Ennead與DesignWorkshop在這一項目的合作，闡明了學院式研究的價值以及嚴謹?shù)难芯繜o需局限于高等院校這一事實。我僅僅在照片中見過猶他州自然歷史博物館，這些照片令人贊嘆，體現(xiàn)出建筑與景觀隨季節(jié)變化的總體效果。該博物館立即成為明星建筑，盡管建筑體量龐大，該博物館還是融入到了古老的湖階地，為周邊自然景色增添了莊嚴的色彩。（請見圖1、圖2）

在書寫關(guān)于DesignWorkshop的過程中，我無疑是迷上了他們的作品，且沉迷了一段時間。麥克哈格生態(tài)學分析普遍存在于景觀建筑與規(guī)劃教育中，當然，中國也是如此，其在景觀建筑學位課程、研究院中的實踐機會大幅度增加。喬?波特、丹?恩賽因、迪克?威爾金森和文斯?福特的作品及其對麥克哈格分析法的優(yōu)化把景觀分析提升為一種藝術(shù)。他們對地質(zhì)學、水文學及動植物生態(tài)學的描繪，可與麥克哈格及其圖解天才伙伴納倫德拉?詹尼加的圖示與解析相媲美。盡管地理信息系統(tǒng)（GIS）技術(shù)大幅度增強了我們的分析能力，但是沒有幾個GIS繪圖可與早期DesignWorkshop或具有代表性才華的麥克哈格-詹尼加的繪圖相提并論。（請見圖3、圖4、圖5）

目前，在庫爾特?卡伯特森、理查德?蕭、特勒爾?巴奇、杰夫?齊默爾曼、吉姆?麥克雷、麗貝卡?倫納德、史蒂文?斯皮爾斯和托德?約翰遜的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，DesignWorkshop繼續(xù)創(chuàng)新、繼續(xù)領(lǐng)先。當我?guī)椭鷨訆W斯汀德克薩斯州大學景觀建筑系時，許多實踐者都給予了支持?？ú厣图s翰遜(及其兩名年輕同事)也在也在旁極力助威，并幫助教導(dǎo)我們第一個班級，要知道我們當時并沒有一個景觀建筑教授或講師。DesignWorkshop這樣做實際上是無償?shù)?這是我這名學術(shù)管理人員尤為感激的事情)。這種貢獻再次彰顯了DesignWorkshop對教學和研究的使命感，也體現(xiàn)了DesignWorkshop幫助培養(yǎng)下一代設(shè)計與規(guī)劃專業(yè)人士的愿望。

DesignWorkshop一直在超越——超越期望，超越平凡。他們承接復(fù)雜、具有挑戰(zhàn)性的、涉及多學科的項目，擴展了公司的視野和影響范圍。例如，他們承接了難度較大的經(jīng)濟社會課題，而其他許多景觀建筑師對這些課題是退避三舍的。他們觸及復(fù)雜的場所并綜合探討該場所的環(huán)境、經(jīng)濟、社會和審美特質(zhì)。全球有一半以上的人口都居住在城市，因此，DesignWorkshop的工作相關(guān)性變得越來越有意義。這種相關(guān)性在中國尤為重要。無論是在城市化方面還是在城市化帶來的挑戰(zhàn)方面，中國都居于世界領(lǐng)先地位。DesignWorkshop對場所和機構(gòu)影響與改造，使我們的生活變得更美好。

弗雷德里克（弗里茨）?斯坦納是一名景觀建筑教育家和規(guī)劃師，自2001年起一直擔任奧斯汀德克薩斯州大學建筑學院院長一職。自1997年以來，他在美國五所大學均擔任過景觀建筑和規(guī)劃教師一職。斯坦納是荷蘭瓦赫寧根大學的富布萊特學者、羅馬美國學院的羅馬獎學金獲得者以及北京清華大學的客座教授。他獲得了費城賓夕法尼亞州立大學的哲學博士學位、文學碩士學位和區(qū)域規(guī)劃碩士學位以及俄亥俄州辛辛那提大學的科學設(shè)計學士學位。

圖1 (fig.1)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopTheUtahMuseumofNaturalHistorybuildingreachesoutintoitsnaturalsettingandblendswiththenaturalterracesofthesite.在自然環(huán)境中的猶他州自然歷史博物館大樓，與場地的自然湖階地融為一體。

“The best way to predict the future is to design it.” - Buckminster Fuller

Design represents one of our species’ most powerful tools for adapting to change and shaping preferred futures. Design involves both the process of conceiving ideal future places and objects as well as managing toward successful results of that effort. Designers guide the process with a storehouse of information about what has worked and what has not. Good urban and landscape designs build on precedents,but also demand a thorough understanding of natural, cultural, economic and political conditions of specific places. The successful combination of such complex information requires the art of skilled designers.

Largely because of its dedicated team of talented designers, Design W orkshop represents a practice on the forefront of realizing positive changes in the built environment, and, over four decades, this firm has maintained design leadership.The origins of Design W orkshop are in the academy: as young professors at North Carolina State University, Joe Porter and Don Ensign organized design workshops with their students and colleagues to tackle real projects, and they adopted this approach when they established the firm in 1969. The firm’s name– Design W orkshop – reflects the collaborative atmosphere of the academic studio. At the time Design W orkshop was established, most practices were named after the founding principals. Naming a firm after a philosophy and collaborative approach shaped the practice from the outset. While successfully serving private and public clients, Design W orkshop’s approach retains an academic orientation with an emphasis on theory and on measurement. They emphasize analysis and diagramming, starting each project with dilemma and thesis statements that define the main challenges and posit possible solutions. This enables the design team to approach each project with the same framework, but with the flexibility to adjust to the unique circumstances of each project.

While projects can share a common framework, each design undertaking responds to a specific set of circumstances. In this regard, design projects resemble scientific experiments with premeditated analytical structures but with unknown results.

Theoretically, Design Workshop defines its legacy through a modification and refinement of the triple bottom line of sustainability. Proponents of sustainable development advocate a balance of ecological, economic, and equity interests –the “three e’s.” Design Workshop’s DW Legacy Design? philosophy involves a“comprehensive sustainable approach” which merges environmental, economic,community, and artistic concerns. Art connects us to our surroundings through the five senses. Art and aesthetics link people to our environments at a visceral level.Such connections are vital for sustainability because when people are attached emotionally to a place, they are more likely to protect it and pass it on to future generations. Aesthetics present a portrait of our cultural values and, thus, are crucial to achieve social and environmental quality.

圖2 (fig.2)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopVisitorstotheUtahMuseumofNaturalHistorycandirectlyexperiencetheregion’secology,geology,wildlifeandothernaturalprocesses.猶他州自然歷史博物館的參觀者可以直接體驗到該地區(qū)的生態(tài)、地質(zhì)情況、野生物種以及其他自然狀態(tài)。

Design Workshop carefully considers the consequences of its projects. Every project begins with a discovery-oriented session during which the design team defines a thesis and desired outcomes, and then selects pertinent metrics employed to achieve the desired results. The firm has developed its own metrics menu sheets to guide teams in defining sustainable objectives and measuring environmental, economic, community and artistic outcomes. In addition to its own metrics, Design Workshop employs the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED?ND)and the Sustainable Sites Initiative? (SITES?)performance measurement systems. Design Workshop was an early adopter of LEED?ND and helped develop SITES? as a participant in its pilot program. The firm uses these metrics to ensure that its teams are considering the impact of their projects as comprehensively and holistically as possible. The metrics help guide the designers to pose questions about integration, innovation, and experimentation. Furthermore, the firm measures outcomes to assess success, to understand value generated, and to help improve future designs. Measurement is central to the growing body of evidence-based design in architecture and landscape architecture.

Like their academic counterparts, Design W orkshop seeks to advance knowledge in landscape architecture, urban design, and town planning. Its staff are reflective practitioners who advance knowledge in the profession through careful and open assessments of their projects. As practitioners in private practice, they certainly must be concerned with sustaining their business, but they also seek to elevate their professions. The best designers are able to learn on the job and modify their practice accordingly through reflection. The honest analysis of one’s own work requires discipline and an open mind.

I have had the good fortune to know most of Design W orkshop’s leaders.They have uniformly been involved in advancing their profession through such service on the Landscape Architecture Foundation board, American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA)professional and student award juries, Landscape Architecture Magazine’s editorial board, the ASLA CEO Roundtable, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the American Planning Association Divisions, and many other professional organizations. Significantly, they are keenly aware of history:of using precedent in their work and of placing their own endeavors within the arc established by the Olmsteds (who largely created the landscape architecture and planning professions in the United States)and Ian McHarg (who created a new theory for design and planning grounded in ecology).

Design Workshop’s professionals serve as informed critics and enthusiastic supporters of their contemporaries. They mentor and teach within Design Workshop and beyond at universities around the world. For instance, Design W orkshop has a robust internal program called “Design U.” Almost weekly, “Lunch and Learn”seminars convene and are led by internal staf f experts, who reflect on their experience. In addition, they host guest experts for “Lunch and Learn” seminars to focus on timely topics. The six Design W orkshop offices (Aspen and Denver,Colorado; Austin, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah)are connected via web, audio, and video conference so that the designers can learn together and share knowledge, reinforcing that they are “one office with long hallways.”

Externally, Design Workshop created a Faculty-in-Residence program to reinforce their academic connections and partner with universities in “Design W eeks” to foster interactions among students, practitioners, and professors. In essence, these Design Weeks help revive and extend the model created by Ensign and Porter in the 1960s. They conduct collaborative workshops to expose students to the approach and thinking of practitioners.

Writing about one’s work, perhaps, is the purest form of reflection. In Design Workshop, such writing – such reflection – is especially tricky because there is more than a sole author at work. Collective writing, like collective design (and all good design is collective, even that under the imprint of a “starchitect”)requires give and take and compromise. This does not mean that design writing cannot have a strong voice. The firm has published four books in the past decade: Gardens of the New American West (2003), Toward Legacy (2007), Garden Legacy (2010)and Landscapes of Enduring Quality (2013). Through publication, Design Workshop not only expresses its own ideas but also contributes to professional discoveries and allows for the critique and examination of its projects.

Design Workshop certainly speaks demonstratively. Some time ago, Todd Johnson(Design Workshop’s Chief Design Of ficer)and I wrote a couple of articles togetherfor Landscape Architecture Magazine. This required cooperation with each other,but, moreover, involved collaboration with strong designers (and personalities)whose work we were profiling: Laurie Olin, Bob Hanna, Carol Franklin, Leslie Sauer, Colin Franklin, Rolf Sauer, Joanne Jackson, and Cecily Kihn. W e attempted to marry Todd’s Harvard Graduate School of Design perspective with Hanna-Olin,Andropogon, Jackson-Kihn, and my own McHarg-infused University of Pennsylvania ecological view. The academic rivalries about design philosophy between Harvard and Penn are similar to those of schools in China, for instance, between Tsinghua and Peking Universities. My undertaking with Todd was a somewhat audacious endeavor but ultimately an enjoyable and rewarding one. W e sought to understand the human-use consequences of the application of ecological knowledge through an examination of specific projects. W e also wanted to question if ecological knowledge was apparent in the realized design. So, is ecological knowledge within design a product of research within the context of the project or just the experience and training (the tacit knowledge)that the designer brings with them into the studio?Furthermore, Todd and I were curious about the designers’ reflections on their work.Our writing process is emblematic of the tasks Todd and his other Design Workshop colleagues take on daily. They do not fear the audacious and they embrace fun and success. Design Workshop is committed to advancing design knowledge, as Todd and I did with our Landscape Architecture Magazine articles.

圖3 (fig.3)CREDIT:DesignWorkshopDesign Workshop’s broad environmental analysis of the Kananaskis Valley yielded a series of maps that determined the location and design of a central village.DesignWorkshop對卡納納斯基斯峽谷廣泛的環(huán)境分析產(chǎn)生了一系列的詳細規(guī)劃圖，確定了一個中心村莊的位置和設(shè)計。

While there is considerable boldness in their work – the transformation of a beloved Texas swimming spot at Blue Hole, the creation of a new community with Rancho Viejo in New Mexico, the implementation of a new heart for Denver with Riverfront Park – there is a wonderful sense that these Design W orkshop projects fit into the landscape where they are located. They suit the landscape and transform it. These works also feel like they were produced for the people who live there, rather than the designers who guided their creation.

A favorite recent project that is not featured in the series of articles that follow is the Utah Museum of Natural History. Produced with Ennead Architects, the museum reveals a deep understanding of the natural and cultural histories of Utah. This understanding underscores Design W orkshop’s commitment to collaboration and to research. Ennead and Design W orkshop’s collaboration on this project illustrates both the value of academic-like research and the fact that rigorous study need not be confined with universities. I have only seen the Utah Museum of Natural History in photographs, and they are dazzling images that depict a seasonally changing ensemble of building and landscape. The museum is at once stunning architecture,but, despite its considerable mass, blends into the ancient lake terrace adding considerable grandeur to its natural context. (see fig. 1 and fig. 2)

Writing about Design W orkshop, I am clearly a fan of their work and have been one for some time. McHargian ecological analysis has become ubiquitous in landscape architecture and planning education and certainly in China, which has experienced a dramatic increase in landscape architecture degree programs,institutes, and practices. The works of Porter, Ensign, Dick Wilkinson, and V ince Foote and their refinements of McHargian analysis have elevated landscape analysis to a fine art. Their maps of geology, hydrology, and plant and animal ecology rivaled the beauty in graphic representation and interpretive clarity of McHarg and his graphic genius partner, Narendra Juneja. While geographic information systems (GIS)technology has done much to advance our analytic abilities, few GIS maps match those of early Design W orkshop or McHarg-Juneja in representational brilliance. (see fig. 3, fig. 4 and fig. 5)

Today led by Kurt Culbertson, Richard Shaw, Terrall Budge, Jeffrey Zimmerman, Jim MacRae, Rebecca Leonard, Steven Spears and Todd Johnson, Design W orkshop continues to innovate and to lead. When I helped start a new graduate landscape architecture program at the University of Texas at Austin, many practitioners were supportive. Culbertson and Johnson (with two of their junior colleagues)went beyond cheerleading from the sidelines and helped teach our first class, as we had started a program without a permanent landscape architecture faculty. Design Workshop did so practically pro bono (something especially appreciated by this academic administrator). This contribution again illustrates Design W orkshop’s commitment to teaching and research and its desire to help produce the next generation of design and planning professionals.

Design Workshop consistently goes beyond – beyond what is expected and beyond the ordinary. They take on complex, challenging multi-disciplinary projects that expand the firm’s reach. For instance, they take on dif ficult economic and social issues that many other landscape architects shy away from. They embrace the complexities of places, that is, their comprehensive environmental, economic,social, and aesthetic qualities. With over half the global population now living in urban settings, the relevance of Design W orkshop’s work grows increasingly more significant. This relevance is especially important in China, a world leader in urbanization and its challenges. Design Workshop transforms places and institutions that change lives for the better.

About the author

Frederick (Fritz)Steiner is a landscape architecture educator and planner and has served as dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin since 2001. Since 1977, he has served on the landscape architecture and planning faculties at five United States universities. Steiner was a Fulbright scholar at Wageningen University, the Netherlands; a Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome; and a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. He received a Ph.D., an M.A., and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, as well as a Master of Community Planning and a Bachelor of

Science in Design degree from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

圖4 (fig.4)CREDIT:DesignWorkshopKananaskisVillageMasterPlan卡納納斯基斯村總體規(guī)劃圖