B.EnvD: Landscape Architecture

Landscape architects combineÌýart and science to design places thatÌýexpress cultural values, support human well-being, repair ecological systems and mitigate flooding and pollution.

Students who major in landscape architecture have a strong foundation in the history and theory of landscape architecture, planting design, landform manipulation, concept and program development, and green infrastructural technologies.

A landscape architecture major prepares students to pursue graduate studies or work in landscape architecture firms, interdisciplinary firms, or government agencies

Hands on Learning

Environmental Design Core

Anchored through a combination of lecture courses and studio instruction, our core curriculum builds upon studios where students solve design problems at interrelated scales of the built environment: buildings, landscapes and urban systems.

  • Intro to environmental product of design, 8-week studio
  • Intro to architecture, 8-week studio
  • Core technology 1
  • ENVD Colloquium
  • Core lecture: Design Theory & Thinking
  • Intro to landscape architecture, 8-week studio
  • Intro to sustainable planning & urban design, 8-week studio
  • Core technology 2
  • Core lecture: History of the Built Environment
  • Choice of core design studio, 8-week studio
  • Choice of core design studio, 8-week studio
  • Core technology 3
  • Core lecture: Ecology & Design
  • Core lecture: Planning & ImplementationÌý

Students pursue in-depth projects and gain specialized skills necessary for pre-professional work or graduate study through upper-division course work.


Introduction to Landscape Architecture

Confluence design by Aidon Salvay

Confluence by Aidon Salvay

ÌýÌýENVD Core 8-week design studio
The third of four introductory studios exposes students to concepts and strategies inherent to the practice of landscape architecture. Students analyze and design ecologically related systems within an urban context in this immersive studio environment.

Fundamentals of Landscape Architecture

The Wave Sector design by Jennifer Pintar

The Wave Sector by Jennifer Pintar

ÌýÌýENVD Core 8-week design studio
Building on skills learned from the introductory studio, this course expands the skills and knowledge needed for the practice of landscape architecture. With a focus on resilient design and exploration through multiple scales, students design ecological systems in an urban context.

Foundations of Landscape Architecture

Rise landscape model by Morgan Temkin

Rise by Morgan Temkin

ÌýÌýENVD major 16-week design studio
Introduces essential landscape architecture skills through a project-based studio, builds on design literacy, incorporates varied ecological processes, explores landscape as a medium for connecting the natural and cultural, develops analog and digital communication tools and focuses on the importance of place-making.

Intermediate Landscape Architecture

Emerald Elementary Schoolyard Redesign.

Emerald Elementary Schoolyard Redesign by Emily Chinowsky, Izzy Da Sliva, Alex Pearson, Sarah Riddick & Jack Spencer

ÌýÌýENVD major 16-week design studio
Building on skills established in Studio A, this studio advances understanding of landscape architecture practice by incorporating projects that engage communities or other real-world applications. This studio builds on digital technologies and drawing and graphic communication skills.

Capstone in Landscape Architecture

Nature Based Solutions student design.

Nature Based Solutions by Yikang Mei

ÌýÌýENVD major 16-week design studio
Building on skills established in the second studio, the capstone refines the student's practice of landscape architecture through a design-build project or other applied, hands-on design project. The studio introduces critical concepts, strategies and advanced technical skills in order to address the pressing issues that can be addressed through landscape architecture.

Innovative Curriculum

Signature and innovative, our core curriculum provides an intensive and balanced introduction to the traditional professions within the broad field of environmental design.ÌýSet a foundation with a three-semester introduction to design theories and practice before declaring your major.

ENVD Core

3 semesters of ENVD core

Ìý

Interdisciplinary

six eight-week design studios

Ìý

5-credit

technology course sequence

Ìý

4

sixteen-week major design studios

Ìý

Be Visionary.

Experiential learning is a core component of design education with students engaging in design, build and fabrication activities.

Learning Objectives

LAND Objectives

ÌýÌýDevelop site-related formal design concepts supported by in-depth analysis of local and regional ecological and cultural systems.

ÌýÌýUse design thinking techniques to conduct a methodical and iterative design process.

ÌýÌýFunction collaboratively as part of a team of designers who set goals, schedules, and delegate tasks to produce a unified vision.

ÌýÌýCommunicate design concepts using a variety of visual representational techniques and media including: analog drafting, rendering, and modeling; digital drafting, rendering, 3d modeling; and digital fabrication methods such as 3d printing and laser cutting.Ìý

ÌýÌýCommunicate complex concepts, verbally and in writing, to a variety of audiences.

ÌýÌýIdentify major historical and theoretical movements in landscape architecture, and relate each to its cultural, environmental, intellectual, economic, and political contexts.

ÌýÌýUnderstand and analyze the interactions between people and natural systems with the goal of designing resilient ecological systems.

ÌýÌýIdentify and design with plant species adapted to local, regional, and novel ecosystems using techniques appropriate for stormwater management and green infrastructure, habitat cultivation, and placemaking.

ÌýÌýDesign with landform to support programmatic function and cultural experience using techniques appropriate for stormwater management and green infrastructure.

B.EnvD Objectives

Critical ThinkingÌý
Students will use creative, critical, and convergent thinking to address social and environmental issues through precedents, theory, research, and problemâ€�defining techniques in order to analyze the need for and impact of design solutions.Ìý

±Ê°ù´Ç²ú±ô±ð³¾â€�S´Ç±ô±¹¾±²Ô²µÌý
Through iterative design students will develop conceptual or material solutions to socioâ€�environmental issues by synthesizing critical feedback and collaborative findings with their peers and the communities that they engage.Ìý

Communication & RepresentationÌý
Students will employ graphic, verbal, written, spatial, and other communication strategies in order to organize, demonstrate and argue for design concepts and proposals.Ìý

Stewardship & SustainabilityÌý
Students will apply tenets of social and environmental justice through design stewardship and sustainability to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all project constituents.Ìý

Technical Skills & MethodologiesÌý
Students will develop the foundational technical skills and learn to apply the methodologies necessary to enter the academic and professional disciplines of environmental design.Ìý

The Student Experience

Meet Our Students

Rachel Martino​
Landscape architecture allows Rachel to combine a passion for design and beauty with a deep appreciation for ecology and sustainability.

Logan Shockey
The programÌýhas changedÌýthe way Logan views his relationship with the planet - he now feelsÌýlike part of a larger system rather than one individual organism.

Maya Handelman
The impact the outdoors has had on her life and wanting to connect people with nature led Maya to pursue landscape architecture.

Emily VanGuilder
Emily found that the ENVD community is a unique combination of camaraderie and competition, but ultimately everyone is here to support each other.

Affiliate Student Organizations

TheÌýAmerican Society of Landscape Architects Student Chapter (ASLA) is a student-led organization thatÌýbrings students together through organized activities that enhance the understanding of landscape architecture and related disciplines.

Learn more. Get involved.

Professional Development

2+

internships completed on average by
ENVD students before graduation

Ìý

80%

of students were hired in design fields
within three months of graduation*

Ìý

Most

environmental design
grads in the U.S.

Ìý

Beyond Graduation

Careers in Landscape Architecture

Landscape ArchitectureÌýgraduates might work in the following areas and institutions:

ÌýÌýSmall, medium, or large landscape architectural firmsÌýÌý

ÌýÌýMultidisciplinary firms that also provide urban planning and architectural design servicesÌýÌý

ÌýÌýEngineering firmsÌýÌý

ÌýÌýFederal agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers or the National Parks ServiceÌý

ÌýÌýLocal government agencies, such as city parks and planning departmentsÌý

ÌýÌýNonprofit organizationsÌýÌý

ÌýÌýBotanical gardensÌýÌý

ÌýÌýUniversity campus planning departmentsÌýÌý

ÌýÌýAcademia

Meet Our Alumni

Alec Stolz (EnvDes'20)

Gardener
Denver Botanic Gardens, Chatfield Farms
Denver

B.EnvD Licensure Statement

TheÌýBachelor of Environmental Design (B.EnvD) at the Âé¶¹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ is a pioneering and integrative approach to education and research that will shape the future of design.ÌýThe B.EnvD program orients students to the creation of healthy and sustainable communities with attention to social justice and economic vitality. Built upon strong traditions within the design fields, including architecture and landscape architecture, we are an inclusive and creative community committed to enriching our built, social and natural environments.ÌýÌý

While completing the B.EnvD at Âé¶¹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder will not by itself meet the education requirements for professional licensure in either architecture or landscape architecture in any state, it is possible that the degree and the specific courses taken might count toward licensing requirements in some states.ÌýIf you are planning to eventually seek professional licensure as an architect or landscape architect, it is strongly recommended that you contact the appropriate licensing entity in the state in which you plan to practice in order to seek information and guidance regarding licensure requirements, including the educational component of those requirements. It is important to remember that licensing requirements are state-specific and differ greatly from one state to another.

Learn more about state-specific licensing requirements

Ìý Visit Ìý