This course introduces first-year Master of Landscape Architecture students to the representational and computational foundations of the discipline. Structured in two parts, the course first builds proficiency in core representational tools — freehand drawing, digital drafting (AutoCAD), and graphic communication (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) — before transitioning to computational methods including three-dimensional modeling (Rhino 3D), parametric design (Grasshopper), and AI-assisted design workflows. Throughout the semester, students maintain a sketchbook as a sustained practice of observation, ideation, and analog reflection alongside digital work.
Part I — Representation — introduces students to the instruments of landscape communication: how to draw, draft, and visualize space. Part II — Computation — introduces students to the logic of parametric and algorithmic design and to working critically alongside AI tools. The course is built around seven hands-on workflows, each a self-contained assignment that builds cumulatively toward a final integrated drawing set.
Students will engage with precedents from 20th to early 21st century landscape architecture — such as works by Lawrence Halprin, Dan Kiley, and James Corner — both as sources of graphic inspiration and as objects of analysis. By the end of the semester, students will have a working toolkit of representational and computational skills appropriate for advanced design studio work.
Each weekly session runs from 9:00 AM to 11:50 AM in SSA 127. Sessions take four formats across the semester: lecture — introduction of representational techniques, design thinking, or course context; live demo — the instructor demonstrates a tool or technique step by step, with students working in parallel; lab session — students work on the weekly exercise with the instructor available for individual guidance; and studio working session — open critique, pin-up, or desk review format.
Students are expected to complete each workflow assignment between sessions. While each workflow is discrete, they are designed cumulatively to simulate the integrated workflow of professional landscape practice: from hand sketch to CAD drawing to 3D model to refined presentation. Feedback is provided through individual desk critiques, a mid-semester pin-up, and a final assembly review.
The course is organized around seven workflows. Each is a focused, hands-on assignment introduced in class and completed before the following session. Together they span the representational and computational range of contemporary landscape practice.
| WF | Title | Tools | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| WF01 | Site Plan and Section in AutoCAD | AutoCAD | 2–3 |
| WF02 | Hand Sketch to Hybrid Drawing | PhotoshopInDesign | 4 |
| WF03 | Urban Context Mapping | OSMGoogle EarthIllustrator | 5 |
| WF04 | Rhino Landform Modeling | Rhino 3DGrasshopper | 7–8 |
| WF05 | Attractor Fields | Rhino 3DGrasshopper | 9–10 |
| WF06 | MCP — Claude Inside Rhino | Rhino 3DGrasshopperClaudeMCP | 11 |
| WF07 | Build Your Own Website with Claude Code | Claude CodeGitGitHub Pages | 12 |
The following software is available on computers in the SSA labs. Students who wish to work on personal machines are responsible for obtaining their own licenses, many of which are available free or at reduced cost through CCNY.
Personal Laptop. Students are strongly encouraged to bring a personal laptop to each class session. Laptops must be capable of running AutoCAD, Rhino 3D (with Grasshopper), and Adobe Creative Cloud. For hardware recommendations, refer to the SSA IT Student Handbook. Technical support: CCNY IT Service Desk — servicedesk@ccny.cuny.edu · 212 650 7878 · Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
Claude — Required Starting WF06 (Week 11). The computational workflows use Claude. WF06 (MCP — Claude Inside Rhino, Week 11) runs entirely in Claude Desktop, where an MCP bridge lets Claude operate Rhino directly. WF07 (Website, Week 12) uses the same app to direct Claude Code. Both require a paid Claude Pro subscription (currently $20/month); students are required to purchase at least one month. The subscription covers both workflows.
WF06 — Personal Computer Setup Required. Claude Desktop must be installed on your own computer for the MCP half of WF06 (Week 11), and Git for Windows joins it for the WF07 website workflow (Week 12). Neither is available on SSA lab machines. Claude Desktop is free at claude.com/download and Git is free at git-scm.com. Install Claude Desktop before the Week 11 session, Git before Week 12.
Miro — Submissions. All workflow assignments are submitted to the course Miro board. The team invite is sent to your CCNY email at the start of the semester; join with your CCNY account. Miro is free for students at miro.com.
CCNY Email. Communication will happen via CCNY Email. Students need to check and be responsive to their CCNY emails.
This course is part of the Landscape Architecture course sequence and introduces the disciplinary skills and thinking processes necessary for a student preparing for a career as a professional landscape architect. The course supports the mission of the Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture of the City College of New York, which asserts that landscape architecture plays an essential role in connecting social justice to environmental design and the planning of landscape systems in the urban realm. The Graduate Program prepares students to be leaders in the field through innovative research and practice in urban ecological design, planning, and policymaking. This course teaches students responsive technologies and strategies to address issues of globalization, expanding urbanization, social and environmental justice, the transformation of land management practices in response to diminishing natural resources, and resilient adaptation to climate change.
- Analog Representation and Sketchbook Practice
- Digital Drafting and CAD Proficiency
- Graphic Communication and Presentation Design
- Parametric and Computational Modeling
- AI-Assisted, Agent-Directed Design and Critical Literacy
Students build skills in the areas below, matching the educational goals above. The goal is not only proficiency in specific tools but a working understanding of how computational tools operate — so students can give meaningful direction when working with AI.
- Hand Drawing and Sketchbook — Line quality, linework conventions, and freehand representation through an initial drawing session and a sustained sketchbook practice maintained throughout the semester. The sketchbook records observation, site sketching, diagramming, and analog ideation, and is submitted as a final deliverable.
- Digital Drafting (AutoCAD) — Interface, commands, layers, lineweights, and annotation. Through tracing precedent landscape projects, students build drafting fluency while developing critical literacy about 20th and 21st-century landscape design.
- Graphic Communication (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) — Photoshop for collage and photomontage, Illustrator for vector diagrams and mapping, and InDesign for layout — combining digital and hand techniques into hybrid drawings.
- 3D Modeling and Parametric Design (Rhino 3D, Grasshopper, Python) — Rhino 3D to build topographic surfaces, then Grasshopper for parametric and algorithmic design — data-driven geometries, attractor-based patterning — and Python scripting in Grasshopper for computational landform analysis.
- AI-Assisted Design (Claude Code) — Using an AI coding agent to build and publish a real artifact — a personal portfolio website — with version control and free web hosting. The workflow emphasizes the distinction between planning (deciding what you want) and execution (directing the agent to build it).
- Workflow Assignments (WF01–WF07) — 70% — Seven focused assignments, each applying the skills introduced in that workflow's sessions. Each is distributed in class and due one week after its final session, giving a full week of working time. Workflows are cumulative and build toward the final integrated drawing set.
- Sketchbook (ongoing, due Dec 21) — 10% — A physical sketchbook maintained throughout the semester. Each week, add at least one observational or ideation sketch related to course content. Reviewed informally at the Part I Pin-Up (Week 6) and in full at the end of the semester. For final submission, select and scan the 10 best sketches.
- Part I Pin-Up (Week 6) — 10% — Present Part I work (WF01–WF03) for peer and instructor critique at the close of the Representation half. The sketchbook is reviewed informally. WF03 is due at this session and is presented as part of the pin-up.
- Final Integrated Drawing Set (due Dec 21) — 10% — A complete drawing set demonstrating proficiency across representational and computational media, integrating outputs from across the seven workflows: an AutoCAD-drafted plan and section, a hybrid Photoshop/hand drawing, an Illustrator context map, a Rhino landform model with its contour plan, a Grasshopper attractor field, and a slope analysis. The selected sketchbook scans are submitted with it. Work in progress is reviewed at the Week 13 desk critiques (Dec 3); the completed set is due by the end of term, Dec 21.
| Week | Topic | Tools | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I — Representation (Weeks 1–6) | |||
| 01 Sep 3 |
Introduction + Sketching Workshop Course introduction and drawing fundamentals — line weight, freehand lines, drawing tools, landscape graphic conventions; sketchbook practice introduced ▸ Lecture: Drawing as Thinking Tool |
PencilsPensTrace PaperSketchbook | In-class orthographic drawing of a simple outdoor space (plan + section); begin sketchbook |
| 02 Sep 10 |
WF01: Site Plan and Section in AutoCAD (1 of 2) AutoCAD introduction — units and drawing setup, navigation, basic commands (line, circle, offset, trim, mirror, copy); attaching a precedent image as a drafting reference ▸ Lecture: A History of Computational Thinking |
AutoCAD | WF01 in progress — precedent selected and confirmed; site plan drafted at 1"=20' |
| 03 Sep 17 |
WF01: Site Plan and Section in AutoCAD (2 of 2) Layers, CTB lineweights, and annotation; section cut from the plan; trace-paper analysis overlay; Layout mode and plotting to PDF |
AutoCAD | WF01 in progress — section and analysis overlay drafted; sheets set up in Layout |
| 04 Sep 24 |
WF02: Hand Sketch to Hybrid Drawing Short session (9:00–9:50) for the studio trip to Storm King. The Photoshop and InDesign demo moves to Week 05 ▸ Lecture: Graphic Design 101 |
PhotoshopInDesign | WF01 due — a precedent project re-presented in AutoCAD at 1"=20': site plan, at least one section, and a trace-paper analysis overlay — three 11"×17" PDFs WF02 in progress — sketches scanned, site material gathered |
| 05 Oct 1 |
WF02 + WF03: Urban Context Mapping WF02 demo: Photoshop layers, masking, the Hockney-style site joiner, collage and annotation over hand linework; assembling a site reading deck in InDesign. WF03: sourcing base data from OpenStreetMap and Google Earth Pro; tracing and composing linework, satellite imagery, and site photographs in Illustrator; grid, north arrow, and scale bar |
PhotoshopInDesignOSMGoogle EarthIllustrator | WF02 in progress — first hybrid drawing begun WF03 in progress — site selected, base data sourced |
| 06 Oct 8 |
Lecture + Part I Pin-Up First half: lecture. Second half: present WF01–WF03 for peer and instructor critique at the close of the Representation half; informal sketchbook review ▸ Lecture: Intro to GIS / Spatial Data |
All media | WF02 due — a multi-page site reading deck: at least two hybrid drawings combining digital collage and hand linework, plus one material study, exported as an 11"×17" PDF WF03 due — an urban context map of the selected site combining OSM linework, satellite imagery, and site photographs, with grid, north arrow, and scale bar — an 11"×17" PDF Bring printed/plotted WF01–WF03 and sketchbook for pin-up |
| Part II — Computation (Weeks 7–13) | |||
| 07 Oct 15 |
WF04: Rhino Landform Modeling (1 of 2) Rhino introduction — units and file setup, curves and surfaces, sub-object selection and the Gumball; building the base slope and a first landform with Project, Trim, Patch, and Join; a live Grasshopper contour preview ▸ Lecture: Modeling as Thinking |
Rhino 3DGrasshopper | WF04 in progress — base slope built and the first of three landform conditions modeled |
| 08 Oct 22 |
WF04: Rhino Landform Modeling (2 of 2) Three spatial conditions, each interacting with water differently; Loft and Patch surfaces; baking Grasshopper contours and drawing the plan with Make2D; sheet setup and the isometric view |
Rhino 3DGrasshopper | WF04 in progress — all three conditions modeled; contours baked and Make2D run |
| 09 Oct 29 |
WF05: Attractor Fields (1 of 2) Writing the rule as pseudocode before building it; Grasshopper basics — data flow, components, wires, sliders and panels; Populate 2D and Line SDL to grow a meadow; Dispatch to carve a mown path |
Rhino 3DGrasshopper | WF04 due — a landform composition for the 180×300 ft site — three spatial conditions, each interacting with water differently — as a contour plan PDF at 1"=20' plus an isometric view WF05 in progress — the meadow built and a mown path dispatched from it |
| 10 Nov 5 |
WF05: Attractor Fields (2 of 2) Wet areas by Remap — attractor curves, distance functions, and remapped domains driving height across the field; one definition holding two landscape rules |
Rhino 3DGrasshopper | WF05 in progress — the second rule wired into the same definition; slider study underway |
| 11 Nov 12 |
WF06: MCP — Claude Inside Rhino Installing an MCP server so Claude operates Rhino directly — the pattern that carries to any other software; building a landform by describing it; slope as the angle between a surface normal and world Z; then the second route, a Grasshopper definition whose Python components are three-line shims loading .py files Claude edits directly ▸ Lecture: Cybernetics and Design |
Rhino 3DGrasshopperClaude | WF05 due — one Grasshopper definition encoding two landscape rules on the same meadow — a mown path (Dispatch) and wet areas (Remap) — as Week 9 and Week 10 viewport screenshots plus one slider study WF06 in progress — Rhino MCP connected, landform built |
| 12 Nov 19 |
WF07: Build Your Own Website with Claude Code Plan site content and write a build spec in Claude Chat; build in Claude Code; preview with a local server and publish to GitHub Pages; the distinction between planning (Chat) and execution (Code) as a model for directing AI agents ▸ Lecture: Web Coding Literacy |
Claude CodeGitGitHub Pages | WF06 due — slope analysis run both ways: one viewport of the landform Claude built through MCP, the .gh shell with its .py file, and one isometric of the colored slope mesh WF07 in progress — build spec written, site published live |
| — Nov 26 |
No class — College closed for Thanksgiving | ||
| 13 Dec 3 |
Final Assembly + Desk Critiques Integrate outputs from all seven workflows into the final drawing set; individual desk reviews of work in progress; last class session |
All media | WF07 due — a live personal portfolio site on GitHub Pages — about page, at least one project, and a resume — shared as a public URL Final Drawing Set work-in-progress for desk review |
| — Dec 21 |
End of term — Final Integrated Drawing Set due (integrated set drawing on all seven workflows) and Sketchbook due (10 selected scans) | ||
All students are held to high and consistent standards. Work is considered on its own merits and in relationship to the work of others, to make clear distinctions across the range of work. The full range of the grading scale may be used. Grades are not negotiable. Design work is graded on the following criteria:
- Completeness — Assignments are complete and graphically legible.
- Technical Skills — Executed with appropriate method and proficiency across media.
- Accuracy and Presentation — Completed with precision and presented professionally.
- Effort and Concept — Iterates through multiple drafts; shows experimentation and improvement; concepts are articulated and well-developed.
- Participation — Engages in discussions and group work.
- Attendance — Consistent preparation and on-time presence.
| Grade | Explanation | Quality Points |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | Exceptional | 4.00 |
| A | Excellent | 4.00 |
| A− | 3.70 | |
| B+ | 3.30 | |
| B | Good | 3.00 |
| B− | 2.70 | |
| C+ | 2.30 | |
| C | Satisfactory | 2.00 |
| F | Failure / Unsuccessful Completion | 0.00 |
A grade of C is the lowest passing letter grade for graduate students. Students will not receive credit for this course if their final grade is below C (2.0). Per the Graduate Bulletin, a graduate student with a GPA below 3.0 cannot receive a Master's Degree. For program-specific information on grades, academic standing, probation, and dismissal, meet with the graduate student advisor.
Attendance
This course meets Thursday 9:00 – 11:50 AM in SSA 127. Attendance is required and is taken at all scheduled sessions.
Per CCNY policy on lateness and absence, no distinction is made between excused and unexcused absences, and an instructor may treat lateness as equivalent to absence. For non-clinical courses, the number of hours absent may not exceed twice the number of contact hours the course meets per week. An instructor has the right to drop a student for excessive absence, entering a grade of WU. A student may appeal to the Committee on Course and Standing.
Absence for religious observance or jury duty is an exception. Notify the instructor prior to an absence whenever possible, and append a doctor's note or other written proof where relevant.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty is prohibited at CUNY and is punishable by penalties including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. Plagiarism — presenting the words, drawings, ideas, or opinions of someone else as one's own — is a serious instance of academic dishonesty. All assignments must be the student's original work, produced for this class and no other. Any copying, even short excerpts, from another book, article, or Internet source, published or unpublished, without proper attribution or citation, will result in automatic failure of the course.
You will fail this course if you: (1) submit work used for another course; (2) copy material and submit it as your own without quotation and citation, or otherwise represent another's work as your own; (3) submit the same work as another student. Plagiarized work will be reported to the CCNY Academic Integrity Committee per the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity.
Incompletes
Grades of "incomplete" (INC) are not given unless there is evidence of a medical or personal emergency. In such cases, instructor and student develop a contract to complete work by a specified date, per CCNY policy. This contract must be processed by the academic advisor and approved by the Program Director and the Chair's Office. Missed work due to illness must be explained with a physician's note.
Classroom Civility
All students are expected to participate in class discussions. Meaningful and constructive dialogue is encouraged; discussion should be civil, respectful, and relevant to the topic. This requires a willingness to listen, tolerance for different points of view, and mutual respect from all participants. Guest critics will be informed of this expectation for civility.
Use of Electronic Devices
Students are expected to engage in active learning during class time. Mobile phones, texting, and social media are distracting; please put handheld devices away and out of view during class. The appropriate use of laptops will be discussed. The instructor provides periodic breaks; personal devices may be used during these.
City College Library Research Support
The Spitzer School of Architecture's library is a shared resource and a necessary supplement to all research and design work. Direct questions to library staff or the Architecture Librarian.
nsanchez@ccny.cuny.edu
library.ccny.cuny.edu/architecture
AccessAbility Center (AAC)
The AAC facilitates equal access and coordinates reasonable accommodations and support services for students with disabilities while preserving academic standards. Students registered with the AAC should inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester. Faculty must receive an official accommodation memo before implementing accommodations.
212 650 5913 (TTY/TTD 212 650 8441)
disabilityservices@ccny.cuny.edu
ccny.cuny.edu/accessability
Health and Wellness Services
City College's Office of Health and Wellness Services offers free and confidential counseling.
212 650 8222 — counseling@ccny.cuny.edu
Office of Diversity and Compliance
City College complies with CUNY policies regarding discrimination. The College has resources to support students who have experienced sexual violence, intimate partner/domestic violence, gender- or race-based discrimination, harassment, or stalking. For confidential support, contact the Student Psychological Counselor / Confidential Advocate at 212 650 8905 or the Gender Resources Program at 212 650 8222. The Title IX Coordinator is Diana Cuozzo.
212 650 7330 — dcuozzo@ccny.cuny.edu
ccny.cuny.edu/affirmativeaction
Public Safety
For an emergency on campus, call Public Safety at 212 650 7777. Off campus, call 911.