Harmon Publishes Book Computational Design for Landscape Architects
Brendan Harmon, assistant professor of landscape architecture, has published the new book Computational Design for Landscape Architects (Routledge 2024).
This book is a guide to computational design for landscape architects replete with extensive tutorials. It introduces algorithmic approaches for modeling and designing landscapes. The aim of the book is to use algorithms to understand and design landscape as a generative system, i.e. to harness the processes that shape landscape to generate new forms. An algorithmic approach to design is gently introduced through visual programming with Grasshopper, before more advanced methods are taught in Python, a high-level programming language.
Topics covered include parametric design, randomness and noise, waves and attractors, lidar, drone photogrammetry, point cloud modeling, terrain modeling, earthworks, digital fabrication, and more. The chapters include sections on theory, methods, and either visual programming or scripting. Online resources for the book include code and datasets so that readers can easily follow along and try out the methods presented.
“This book is a much-needed guide, both theoretical and practical, on computational design for students, educators, and practitioners of landscape architecture,” Harmon said.
Harmon is graduate coordinator at LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, to be promoted to associate professor in August 2024. His research aims to ground design in spatial science by seamlessly integrating geospatial modeling into the creative design process through technologies such as tangible interaction, digital fabrication, and virtual reality. He co-designed Tangible Landscape, a tangible interface for geospatial modeling. His previous publications include a book, book chapters, and papers on tangible interaction, geospatial modeling, and digital design. He received a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a Master of Philosophy in Geography and the Environment from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Design from North Carolina State University.
Learn more about the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.