制圖技術(shù)在風(fēng)景園林專業(yè)和高等教育中的發(fā)展與現(xiàn)狀

著：（美）阿什利·斯蒂芬斯 譯：許薌斌 尚葉青 校：莊陶之

1 制圖技術(shù)在風(fēng)景園林學(xué)科中的演變

許多設(shè)計(jì)領(lǐng)域在項(xiàng)目之初常用口頭溝通，并輔以傳統(tǒng)手繪和渲染方法表達(dá)設(shè)計(jì)理念。而在設(shè)計(jì)過(guò)程中，人們則采用多元化的圖像表達(dá)方式來(lái)表述方案，包括簡(jiǎn)單的概念圖表達(dá)、正式的說(shuō)明性平面圖和技術(shù)性的工程文件。盡管手繪制圖的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)已經(jīng)存續(xù)了幾十年，但更先進(jìn)的計(jì)算機(jī)繪圖軟件正在持續(xù)影響風(fēng)景園林設(shè)計(jì)的全過(guò)程，甚至呈現(xiàn)出取代傳統(tǒng)手繪表達(dá)的大趨勢(shì)。

盡管計(jì)算機(jī)輔助繪圖（CAD）在20世紀(jì)60年代已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)，但直到20世紀(jì)80年代才被應(yīng)用到景觀設(shè)計(jì)行業(yè)中[1]。多數(shù)景觀設(shè)計(jì)公司稱，直至90年代中期CAD統(tǒng)一建筑行業(yè)的制圖規(guī)范標(biāo)準(zhǔn)后[2]，他們才開始用計(jì)算機(jī)的文字處理和電子表格程序來(lái)進(jìn)行企業(yè)管理。隨著Autodesk公司推出的 AutoCAD軟件的更新以及計(jì)算機(jī)顯卡性能的提升，一小部分專家意識(shí)到十余年后制圖軟件將產(chǎn)生的巨大影響[3]。

雖然在人們的早期印象里，CAD僅與施工圖繪制有關(guān)， 但AutoCAD仍為設(shè)計(jì)行業(yè)帶來(lái)了便捷與精確。由于其在提升工作效率中的顯著作用，CAD開始在設(shè)計(jì)過(guò)程中替代其他傳統(tǒng)的制圖方法。用科比·洛卡德（2000年）的話來(lái)說(shuō)，計(jì)算機(jī)制圖從此改寫了設(shè)計(jì)制圖發(fā)展的歷史，其中也不可避免地存在一些問(wèn)題[4]。學(xué)術(shù)界也意識(shí)到，為滿足計(jì)算機(jī)繪圖方面的基本需求，相應(yīng)的教學(xué)課程也需要調(diào)整[1]。但由于課程時(shí)間所限，教學(xué)方也未能很好地解決計(jì)算機(jī)制圖教學(xué)與傳統(tǒng)的手繪技能培養(yǎng)在課時(shí)安排上的沖突，甚至在一些設(shè)計(jì)學(xué)院，計(jì)算機(jī)制圖課已經(jīng)取代了頗具價(jià)值的手繪課。

2 計(jì)算機(jī)制圖的應(yīng)用

“從前，專業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)人士用非常簡(jiǎn)陋的工具—鉛筆、鋼筆來(lái)繪制平面，過(guò)程極為辛苦，但倘若做得好，結(jié)果將令人驚嘆。直到AutoCAD的出現(xiàn)，一切都變了……”

——尼克·貝蒂，喬治亞大學(xué)2006級(jí)研究生

由于意識(shí)到開設(shè)一門符合專業(yè)需求的實(shí)用系列課程的重要程度，我于20世紀(jì)90年代末開始了景觀專業(yè)手繪和計(jì)算機(jī)制圖2門課程的教學(xué)實(shí)踐。為確定這門課的核心內(nèi)容，我分別在2004年、2006年、2007年、2009年和2012年中進(jìn)行了一系列調(diào)查，研究該時(shí)期制圖技術(shù)的發(fā)展及其應(yīng)用。這段時(shí)間是制圖技術(shù)時(shí)代變遷的開始，多種制圖軟件涌現(xiàn)出來(lái)，其中包含AutoCAD、Photoshop和SketchUp這3種技術(shù)領(lǐng)先的軟件。為滿足用人單位的需求，學(xué)校將這3種軟件設(shè)置為基礎(chǔ)教學(xué)課程[5]。

2.1 AutoCAD

AutoCAD最初由建筑師在20世紀(jì)60年代使用，逐漸替換了手繪時(shí)期所制定的景觀行業(yè)施工圖制圖標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，最終取代了手繪的底圖、種植平面圖以及其他典型的專業(yè)構(gòu)造圖。AutoCAD于1982年正式發(fā)布，在4年多的時(shí)間內(nèi)成為應(yīng)用最廣泛的計(jì)算機(jī)輔助繪圖軟件，工作中熟練掌握AutoCAD的學(xué)生也受到廣泛歡迎。但AutoCAD的原始版本也有局限性：如累贅的3D平臺(tái)，在設(shè)計(jì)可視化、渲染和說(shuō)明符號(hào)方面也存在一些缺陷。

2.2 Adobe Photoshop

20世紀(jì)90年代初期，Adobe Photoshop從單純的圖像展示開始，逐步樹立了景觀行業(yè)圖像渲染處理和數(shù)字圖像處理的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，并逐漸使設(shè)計(jì)可視化。隨著掃描儀與計(jì)算機(jī)內(nèi)存能力的提升，設(shè)計(jì)人員可以輕松導(dǎo)入手繪稿和AutoCAD圖稿進(jìn)行后期處理，渲染出豐富多彩且富含筆觸變化的質(zhì)感。數(shù)字處理方式可以實(shí)現(xiàn)圖像的快速修改，既有助于推進(jìn)設(shè)計(jì)決策，也能將設(shè)計(jì)想法及時(shí)傳達(dá)給客戶。

2.3 SketchUp

在21世紀(jì)的頭十年， Sketch Up軟件的出現(xiàn)迅速?gòu)浹a(bǔ)了項(xiàng)目可視化和產(chǎn)品包裝的不足，被譽(yù)為“人人可操作的3D軟件”。Sketch Up上手容易且使用免費(fèi)，因而被建筑師和家具設(shè)計(jì)師們廣泛使用。雖然在Sketch Up中難以獲得平滑彎曲的邊緣，但是景觀設(shè)計(jì)師卻找到了使用Sketch Up快速生成動(dòng)畫短片、導(dǎo)出建筑透視線框圖和模擬建成環(huán)境的快捷途徑，進(jìn)而輔助設(shè)計(jì)可視化與設(shè)計(jì)決策工作的進(jìn)行。

雖然這些領(lǐng)先的技術(shù)在各種設(shè)計(jì)相關(guān)專業(yè)中已經(jīng)得到普遍應(yīng)用，但與景觀專業(yè)特有的表現(xiàn)需求相比，這些技術(shù)在設(shè)計(jì)表達(dá)方面仍有一些缺陷。

3 近期對(duì)景觀行業(yè)內(nèi)制圖軟件使用情況及數(shù)字通信對(duì)其影響的研究

最近，研究生羅德尼·本頓和從業(yè)者丹尼爾·塔爾于2014年通過(guò)美國(guó)風(fēng)景園林師協(xié)會(huì)ASLA進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)調(diào)查。該調(diào)查咨詢了許多公司關(guān)于制圖軟件和技術(shù)的使用情況。結(jié)果表明，風(fēng)景園林專業(yè)與制圖技術(shù)的發(fā)展和應(yīng)用存在很有趣的聯(lián)系。

“過(guò)去20年的新技術(shù)真正徹底地改變了我的工作方式，但我有時(shí)也認(rèn)為，軟件的微小進(jìn)步正在吞噬著更多適應(yīng)新變化所必需的時(shí)間, 那些耗費(fèi)在軟件上的時(shí)間和精力似乎對(duì)提升生產(chǎn)效率并未產(chǎn)生太大的作用?！?/p>

——調(diào)查反饋

3.1 調(diào)查結(jié)果

3.1.1 公司規(guī)模與人員構(gòu)成

調(diào)查通過(guò)Survey Monkey網(wǎng)絡(luò)調(diào)查公司發(fā)送到3 880個(gè)ASLA注冊(cè)公司，其中729個(gè)公司給予了回復(fù)?；貜?fù)的公司中，超過(guò)半數(shù)（55%）擁有員工人數(shù)在2～49名之間，其余的公司則有50名以上的員工，而這之中獨(dú)資企業(yè)占到27%。辦公人數(shù)統(tǒng)計(jì)告訴了我們每個(gè)公司的人員構(gòu)成，由景觀設(shè)計(jì)師以及規(guī)劃師、建筑師或土木工程師混合組成的公司通常因?yàn)楦鄻拥膶I(yè)人員組合擁有更全面的制圖技術(shù)。729個(gè)公司中有400個(gè)以上只有景觀設(shè)計(jì)師，大約有225個(gè)公司雇用了多個(gè)專業(yè)的員工，其余的公司則由景觀設(shè)計(jì)師、規(guī)劃師、建筑師和工程師組成。

3.1.2 硬件

調(diào)查結(jié)果顯示，Macintosh產(chǎn)品（蘋果公司于1984年推出的一種系列微機(jī)）設(shè)計(jì)精巧、配置彩色顯示器，擁有著強(qiáng)大的處理技術(shù)和觸屏優(yōu)勢(shì)。在Macintosh產(chǎn)品占主導(dǎo)地位的時(shí)代，75%的公司仍然使用PC計(jì)算機(jī)，另外15%的公司同時(shí)使用PC和MAC計(jì)算機(jī)。這與景觀行業(yè)使用的一些特定的軟件有關(guān)，如AutoCAD以前只適用于PC計(jì)算機(jī)。后來(lái)考慮到MAC計(jì)算機(jī)使用率的增加，Autodesk明智地推出了MAC版本，但其仍然缺乏完整的PC版功能。

3.1.3 制圖方式

別把那個(gè)卷筆刀扔掉。

“我看過(guò)的大部分SketchUp模型和CAD渲染圖都是廢物。他們都不是手工渲染的。你要么學(xué)習(xí)手繪，要么離開這個(gè)行業(yè)。”

——調(diào)查反饋

隨著時(shí)間推移和新軟件的出現(xiàn)，設(shè)計(jì)者在使用手繪和電腦繪圖之間搖擺不定。對(duì)于教育者來(lái)說(shuō)，平衡課程教學(xué)和軟件技能培訓(xùn)之間的時(shí)間分配是一個(gè)不斷思討的過(guò)程；對(duì)于專業(yè)人士來(lái)說(shuō)，哪種方式效率最高、溝通最方便才最重要。從前述針對(duì)ASLA的調(diào)查結(jié)果來(lái)看，600多家公司表示他們?cè)谠O(shè)計(jì)概念的初步表達(dá)時(shí)還在采用手繪方式。雖然計(jì)算機(jī)在項(xiàng)目過(guò)程中確實(shí)能起到把控作用，但手繪方式在快速構(gòu)思、設(shè)計(jì)思考和前期溝通上仍有不可替代的作用。

“我認(rèn)為現(xiàn)在對(duì)電腦渲染和建模的關(guān)注太多了，而這并不能取代手繪的能力。另外，我發(fā)現(xiàn)那些只會(huì)3D建模的學(xué)生與只會(huì)手繪的學(xué)生之間是有差別的，那些擅長(zhǎng)手繪的人似乎對(duì)空間形態(tài)和藝術(shù)細(xì)節(jié)有著更深入的了解。雖然3D建模軟件價(jià)值不可忽視，但它終究只是一個(gè)工具?！?/p>

——調(diào)查反饋

3.1.4 軟件

調(diào)查顯示多種軟件在實(shí)際中得到應(yīng)用。其中，微軟的MS Office辦公軟件因其功能多樣成為應(yīng)用最為廣泛的軟件。在制圖方面，AutoCAD仍然保持了領(lǐng)先地位，Sketch Up、Photoshop則分別占據(jù)了第二、第三的位置。

“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)市場(chǎng)上沒(méi)有一個(gè)軟件真正適合我們所做的景觀設(shè)計(jì)或城市設(shè)計(jì)工作，總是需要多個(gè)軟件來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)預(yù)期效果。但幸運(yùn)的是，許多軟件已經(jīng)變得更為實(shí)用，并在數(shù)據(jù)導(dǎo)入與導(dǎo)出方面更具交互性，希望這個(gè)趨勢(shì)會(huì)持續(xù)下去”。

——調(diào)查反饋

3.2 技術(shù)問(wèn)題

調(diào)查結(jié)果表明，目前的問(wèn)題普遍存在于軟件升級(jí)的成本、學(xué)習(xí)新技巧所需的時(shí)間和資源以及其他技術(shù)問(wèn)題（如硬件需求和文件大小限制）。

“我們不斷評(píng)估和升級(jí)我們的技術(shù)，但只有深思熟慮后才能做出改變?？蛻艨偸嵌⒅举|(zhì)內(nèi)容，我們必須在精湛的技術(shù)與保持價(jià)格競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力方面保持平衡?！?/p>

——調(diào)查反饋

排名前三的軟件收到的投訴意見(jiàn)不盡相同，但它們確實(shí)有一個(gè)共同點(diǎn)：它們都不是為景觀設(shè)計(jì)師開發(fā)的。

“很希望看到設(shè)計(jì)軟件變得更符合景觀設(shè)計(jì)師的需求，但這話我已經(jīng)說(shuō)了10年。”

——調(diào)查反饋

調(diào)查中許多受訪者表達(dá)了對(duì)于Autodesk公司忽視本專業(yè)的需求和近期很多升級(jí)所需費(fèi)用過(guò)高的不滿；關(guān)于Photoshop的投訴則包括他們必須購(gòu)買完整的Creative Suite和Cloud軟件包，而其中許多應(yīng)用程序是多余的；Sketch Up則以生成大型文件和使電腦卡頓而聞名。這幾家公司業(yè)務(wù)發(fā)展很快，其價(jià)格從每年500美元到5 000美元不等。正在使用Revit、Rhino和Vector works軟件的用戶也提出了一些意見(jiàn)，但很難找到一個(gè)能獨(dú)立滿足景觀行業(yè)制圖要求并實(shí)現(xiàn)與其他專業(yè)跨平臺(tái)協(xié)作的完美軟件。一些專為景觀設(shè)計(jì)的制圖軟件也被簡(jiǎn)單提及，如Land FX和Dynascapes。

4 新技術(shù)對(duì)教育的影響

2012年猶他州立大學(xué)的閆杰和楊博進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)研究表明，雖然新技術(shù)取得了許多積極的成果，但學(xué)習(xí)新技術(shù)所需的時(shí)間以及購(gòu)買、更新軟件所付出的高昂價(jià)格直接影響了用戶對(duì)于這些技術(shù)的采用[6]。調(diào)查結(jié)果顯示，新舊技術(shù)更替所付出的代價(jià)對(duì)公司應(yīng)用和學(xué)校教育的影響十分明顯。教授計(jì)算機(jī)制圖20年以來(lái)，我統(tǒng)計(jì)過(guò)10多種有望成為“下一個(gè)最好的”制圖軟件。要知道，在教授軟件之前，除了要懂得計(jì)算機(jī)的硬件配置和獲得必要的許可之外，教師們還必須知道軟件的使用方法。在許多情況下，這些技巧需要年復(fù)一年地應(yīng)用于隨后的班級(jí)中，而其他非專門教授軟件的教師也需要在他們的教學(xué)工作中熟悉軟件以便修改學(xué)生方案，但許多人并沒(méi)有時(shí)間和精力來(lái)關(guān)注制圖技術(shù)的發(fā)展進(jìn)步。

隨著技術(shù)精湛的專業(yè)人員數(shù)量的激增，許多設(shè)計(jì)師開始質(zhì)疑計(jì)算機(jī)對(duì)于設(shè)計(jì)、圖像讀寫和表達(dá)方面的影響。這些導(dǎo)致了設(shè)計(jì)表達(dá)在教學(xué)上的含混不清以及對(duì)教育與職業(yè)階段所需技能清晰界定的缺失。

據(jù)閆先生2012年的調(diào)查顯示，實(shí)踐從業(yè)者和教育工作者之間對(duì)于軟件的教學(xué)內(nèi)容和選擇應(yīng)用等問(wèn)題的看法存在差異。例如，調(diào)查中ArcGIS軟件已問(wèn)世數(shù)十年，但其在業(yè)內(nèi)的使用程度最低。他的調(diào)查顯示，在341名從業(yè)人員中有38%的人在使用ArcGIS，而24名教育工作者中，卻有91%的人在教授這ArcGIS。同樣地，像Rhinoceros 3D這樣的軟件只有13%的從業(yè)者在使用，卻有61%的老師在教學(xué)。由于課程時(shí)間緊迫，學(xué)校教學(xué)的方法和內(nèi)容將會(huì)影響到未來(lái)軟件的使用和替代。

“……歷史告誡我們，當(dāng)我們教學(xué)的東西與實(shí)際設(shè)計(jì)項(xiàng)目中的東西相去甚遠(yuǎn)時(shí)，麻煩就來(lái)了?！?/p>

——科比·洛卡德，2000年

5 結(jié)論

在未來(lái)的幾年內(nèi)，風(fēng)景園林行業(yè)的制圖方式也許會(huì)有所變化。但遺憾的是，當(dāng)前似乎并沒(méi)有一個(gè)途徑使風(fēng)景園林專業(yè)在開發(fā)滿足專業(yè)特殊需求的軟件方面充分發(fā)揮話語(yǔ)權(quán)，并實(shí)現(xiàn)不同專業(yè)間的跨平臺(tái)協(xié)作。

最后，調(diào)查結(jié)果表明我們專業(yè)長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)系統(tǒng)地采用了先進(jìn)技術(shù)，但卻沒(méi)能在最初應(yīng)用的技術(shù)的基礎(chǔ)上取得多少進(jìn)步?？上驳氖?，許多專業(yè)人士仍將手繪融入設(shè)計(jì)過(guò)程，這也始終是景觀設(shè)計(jì)課程和項(xiàng)目中最核心的要素。

“我認(rèn)為，我們現(xiàn)在對(duì)軟件技術(shù)強(qiáng)調(diào)過(guò)多，忽略通過(guò)手繪解決純粹的設(shè)計(jì)問(wèn)題。我認(rèn)為學(xué)生們沒(méi)有意識(shí)到‘技術(shù)只是一種工具而非一切設(shè)計(jì)的終極解決方式’。過(guò)分強(qiáng)調(diào)工具導(dǎo)致了一群年輕的專業(yè)人士只關(guān)心圖面表達(dá)的漂亮與否，而不是實(shí)用的設(shè)計(jì)。而設(shè)計(jì)本身，才一直是景觀專業(yè)的核心所在”。

——調(diào)查反饋

[1]Tai L.Assessing the Impact of Computer Use on Landscape Architecture Professional Practice: Efficiency,Effectiveness and Design Creativity[J].Landscape Journal,2003, 22: 2-3.

[2]Palmer J.The 1996 status report on computers in landscape architecture[J].Computing ,1998, 11(1): 2–5.

[3]Lange E, Bishop L.Visualization in the Landscape and Environmental Planning: technology and applications[M].New York: Taylor and Francis, 2005.

[4]Lockard K.DCA 2000 Keynote: Where Have We Been?The Recent History of Design Communication[EB/OL].(2000)[2008-11-13].http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JDC/Spring-2000/kirby/kirby.html.

[5]Calabria A, Buitrago J.Computer Graphics for Landscape Architects: An Introduction[M].Clifton Park:Cengage Delmar Learning, 2008.

[6]Yan J.An Evaluation of Current Applications of 3D Visualization Software in Landscape Architecture[D].Logan:Utah State University, 2014.

（編輯/王一蘭）

1 Evolution of Graphics in Landscape Architecture

Most design fields begin the process for design through verbal communication and have expressed design ideas to others through traditional methods of drafting and rendering on paper, typically known as hand graphics.Various forms of graphics from loose conceptual diagrams to formal illustrative plans to highly technical constructive documents are developed with pencils, pens, markers and pastels on various types of paper are communicated to others through a design process.Standards of hand graphics have been in place for decades, however, an influx of advanced computer programs have continued to influence and often replace traditional graphics throughout the design process in Landscape Architecture.

Although Computer Aided Drawing (CAD)programs have been around since the 1960’s, computer applications were not adopted into Landscape Architecture until the 1980’s[1].Most Landscape Architecture firms reported using word processing and spreadsheet programs for business management until the mid-90’s when CAD (Computer Aided Drawing)became an industry standard for construction details[2].With the advent of AutoCAD by Autodesk and better computer graphics cards, few professions realized the impact that graphic programs would have in a little over a decade[3].

Although preliminary indications associate CAD with just construction documents, AutoCAD also offered other benefits such as easy corrections, precise drafting and graphic standards which could be easily transferred to colleagues and across design professions.With the opportunity to increase productivity, CAD started to replace other traditional methods of graphics throughout the design process.The history of graphics for design professions have since been enticed by the capabilities of computer graphics, but,in the words of Kirby Lockard (2000), not without many seductive pitfalls.

The speed of project production in the profession via computer graphics in the late 90’s increased and the hiring of computer capable employees was intoxicating.At this time, academia was also realizing the need for curricular adjustments to meet basic professional needs in regards to computer graphics[1].The pedagogical side of graphics had little time to absorb the educational implications and curricular time restraints in merging multimedium graphics.Where classes may have only been using and/or teaching hand graphics skills, courses now had to include computer applications.In many cases, four or more programs are being taught in conjunction with hand graphics, and in some design schools, computer graphics have superseded hand graphics in educational value.

2 Adoption of Computer Graphics

“Once upon a time, people in the design profession used very crude tools called pencils and pens to create plans.It was a very painstaking process, but the results, if done well, were stunning.Along came AutoCAD and everything changed…”

Nick Petty, UGA Graduate Student.2006

Starting an educational career in the late 90’s as a professor of both hand and computer graphics for landscape architecture, it was important for me to develop a practical course sequence which met professional demands.However, not much research had been done to determine what that might be.As a result, I started a series of early surveys in 2004,2006, 2007, 2009 and 2012 which began to track what technologies were being used and how.It was the beginning of a transitional period that saw over a dozen graphic applications taught with three leading technology applications emerging as essential to curriculum inclusion in order to meet/exceed hiring qualifications: AutoCAD by Autodesk, Photoshop by Adobe and SketchUp by Trimble[5].

2.1 AutoCAD

Originally used by architects in the 1960’s, CAD programs began to replace hand graphic development for construction details and other standardized documents in landscape architecture, eventually replacing hand-drafted base maps, planting plans, and other constructive documents typical to the profession.Formally released in 1982, AutoCAD became the most widely used CAD software in just over 4 years.It was an exciting tool which allowed quick changes and clean products.Students who learned it in school were highly marketable as it was adopted into office production.Even so, there were limitations in the original versions which had a cumbersome 3D platform and lacked in a variety of areas including design visualization,rendering and illustrative symbols.

2.2 Adobe Photoshop

In early to mid-1990’s, Adobe Photoshop was being used primarily for image display of photos,hence the name, but it soon began to emerge as a landscape architecture standard for artistic rendering and digital imagery manipulation, allowing for a modicum of visualization.With the advancement of scanners and file extension, designers could easily import hand-drawn or AutoCAD-drafted products for rendering a variety of materials with what seemed like endless colors, filters, and creative brush strokes.Digital imagery could generate quick photos of redesigned spaces, not only for design decision making but for communicating design ideas to clients.

2.3 SketchUp

In early to mid-2000, a rapid adoption of SketchUp for 3D modeling was an easy fix to the visualization and production package of a project,appropriately described as “3D for Everyone”.Free and relatively easy to learn, SketchUp already had been used by architects and furniture designers, and although it was a bit difficult to get smooth curved edges, landscape architects found a quick way to use SketchUp to generate short walk through animations,develop wire framing of architectural features for perspectives, and model the built environment for design visualization and decision making.

Although ubiquitous in a variety of design related professions, these technological advances in design communication have some negative consequences which are inherently rooted in the way Landscape Architecture needs to use them.

3 Recent Studies Examining What is Being Used in the Profession and Reflections on the Impact of Digital Communication

A more recent survey in 2014 by Graduate Student Rodney Benton and practitioner, Daniel Tal was conducted through ASLA, The American Society of Landscape Architects.This survey asked a variety offirms about their graphic production and technology use.The results indicate an interesting connection the profession of Landscape Architecture has with the history and adoption of graphic technology.

“New technology over the past 20 years has truly revolutionized my office, but at the same time there are days when I feel that the smallincremental advances in software are eating up an increased amount of time necessary to adapt to the new changes, which seem to rarely result in an increase in productivity that makes the time and effort worthwhile.”

Survey response

3.1 Survey Results

3.1.1 Firm Size and Demographics

The survey was sent out via survey monkey to 3,880 ASLA registered offices.729 offices replied.Over half of the offices, 55%, had a firm size between 2～49 employees.Sole proprietors made up 27% with the remaining offices having 50 or more employees.

Office demographics identified the professional composition of each responding firm.Firms that are mixed with Landscape Architects as well as Planners,Architects and/or Civil Engineers typically have a wider variety of technology in the office due to this larger mix of professionals.A vast majority, over 400 of the 729 offices had Landscape Architects only.Approximately 225 offices employed multiple disciplines and the remaining offices had a mix of hired planners,architects and engineers with landscape architects.

3.1.2 Hardware

In a time where Macintosh products have dominated technological advances in processing and touch screen technology with sleek designs and colorful displays, the survey clearly indicates that 75%of firms still use PC based computer hardware with another 15% using both PC and MAC computers.Part of this relates to the software typical to the landscape architecture industry and the historical significance of applications like AutoCAD which only ran on PCs in the past.Anticipating an increase in MAC usage,Autodesk wisely adopted a MAC friendly version, but it is still short of the full PC capabilities.

3.1.3 Graphic Style

Don’t get rid of that pencil sharpener yet.

“Most of the sketch up and cad renderings I've seen is crap.Can't touch rendering by hand.Learn to draw or get out of the business.”

Survey response

Use of hand and computer graphics have oscillated over time.With each new application there is always some speculation that hand graphics will be replaced and become outdated or unused.For educators, it’s a constant struggle to balance curricular time and skill development.For professionals, it’s a matter of what works the fastest and communicates the best.Surveys like this allow hand graphic professionals a chance to utilize and value this timeless artistic form of communication.Surprisingly, over 600 firms stated they used hand graphics in the office, primarily for conceptual design and basic presentation of ideas.While computer applications have certainly taken a firm hold on project development products, there is still an appreciation and usefulness for quick sketching,design thinking and preliminary communication.

“I think too much focus has become of the digital rendering and modeling programs, and does not replace the ability to draw.Additionally, I have found that there is a connection between students who only know 3D programs vs.those who can also draw by hand.Those who can draw seem to have a better understanding of spatial form and the artistic ability to show detail.While invaluable,3d modeling is only one tool.”

Survey response

3.1.4 Software

Here is where things start to get interesting.A larger list of applications was included in the original survey but a quick snapshot of the most widely used applications showed that MS Office has a variety of valuable uses making it the most practical application for the work environment.In regards to drawing,AutoCAD still remains a leader in drafting with Civil 3D on the rise.Photoshop is as widely used as AutoCAD and SketchUp in a close 3rd place.

“We have found that no single software on the market is truly suitable to the landscape architecture/urban design work that we do.It takes multiple programs to achieve our desired goals, but luckily many of the software have become more comparable and interchangeable with their internal and external data.Hopefully that trend will continue“.

Survey response

3.2 Technology Issues

Survey results suggested a general frustration with the cost of upgrades, having the time and resources to learn new technologies and other technical issues such as hardware needs and managing large file sizes.

“We are constantly evaluating and upgrading our technology but make changes only after much deliberation.Clients are always looking at the bottom line and we have to balance being technologically savvy with being financially competitive”.

Survey response

“It would be nice to see design software more geared towards what landscape architects need,but I've been saying that for over ten years now.”

Survey response

Many survey respondents expressed a general displeasure with Autodesk, expressing Autodesk’s disregard for our professional needs and more recently about how expensive it has gotten with too many upgrades.Complaints about Photoshop included having to purchase the full Creative Suite/Cloud package which included other applications that weren’t used.SketchUp is well known for generating enormousfile sizes and bogging down computers.Several firms have outsourcing resources, primarily in the US, but also abroad for advanced graphic production services.These services range from $500～$5,000 annually and are often required for sending/receiving files with multi-disciplinary offices or for client and presentation needs.

There were also many comments from survey respondents who are in the process of making those in house technology changes with Revit, Rhino and Vectorworks.Although Revit is more widely used,most comments really supported the adoption of Vectorworks.Unfortunately, the responses and results seem so random, it’s difficult to identify an up and coming leader which could meet the graphic needs of LA’s in one stylish package and that works across platforms with other professions.

“I am unhappy with the current selection of software offered to LA professionals.It would seem we are too small a group to demand purpose-built CAD software.The only thing I've seen out there that even comes close is Vectorworks, but that has compatibility issues with the Autodesk products.It seems to me that LA's always have to work with software that is designed for other disciplines.”

Survey response

There were a few brief mentions of applications that were designed for LA’s such as Land FX or Dynascapes, but for some reason they didn’t make the more widely used list.

4 The Impact of New Technologies in Education

In a 2012 study conducted by Jie Yan and Bo Yang at Utah State University, results clearly showed that while there are many positive results from new technologies, there are larger milestones for adopting them which revolve around time it takes to learn new technologies and the high price of purchasing and updating applications[6].While the cost of change is evident in survey results of firms, the cost of change is also evident in education.Having started teaching computer graphics during these two decades or more of transition, I have calculated over a dozen different applications/technologies our program adopted as “the next best thing”.Not only in hardware specifications and sometimes licensing, but faculty must know it for practical applications prior to teaching it.In many instances, these technologies need to be applied year after year in subsequent classes and other faculty (who wouldn’t typically teach technology) need to be familiar with it in their studio courses for project development,many who don’t have the time or resources to focus on graphic development.

“There has always been a big gap between what students are learning in LA programs and what is being used in small LA firms.Cause? Cost and the steep learning curve for principals and other employees.”

Survey response

The proliferation of technologically savvy professionals has risen and with that, many designers are starting to question the impact that computers have made in design, graphic literacy and representation.Much of this resulting in ambiguity in design communication pedagogy and a lack of identified trends in skill sets between education and the profession.Yan’s 2012 survey demonstrates some of the differences in perceptions between practitioners and educators on which applications should be taught and which applications are being used.For instance ArcGIS has been showing up in surveys for several decades but it has stayed relatively minimally used in the profession.However, Yan’s survey showed that while 38% of 341 practitioners use it, 91% of the 24 educators in the survey taught it.Likewise, applications like Rhinoceros 3D is used only 13% in the profession but 61% of those educators were using it.With a time crunched curriculum, how and what we decide to teach has implications of what we are leaving out or replacing.

“…h(huán)istory reminds us that one of the ways we get in trouble in teaching design communications is when we let what we are teaching get too separated from what is actually being done in design practice.”

Kirby Lockard, 2000

5 Conclusion

The Landscape Architecture profession might be undertaking some graphic change in the coming years.Unfortunately, there currently doesn’t seem to be a unified approach which would give LA’s a voice in the development of a profession specific application and potentially influence other disciplines to work across our platform.Ultimately, the survey results are a reflection of how our profession historically and systematically adopted what worked as technology advanced and hasn’t really been able to progress much beyond the initial adoption.Some of the best news may be that so many professionals are still using hand graphics and that, in conjunction with design skills, are the core elements of most Landscape Architecture programs throughout the curriculum.

“I honestly think there is TOO much emphasis on technology and not enough on pure and simple problem solving through hand drawn design.I don't think students are being properly taught that technology is a tool...not the end all in design.The over emphasis on tools is creating a group of young professionals that are all about pretty pictures and not enough about practical design...which has always been, still is and will always be…where the core of landscape architecture operates”.

Survey response