Identifier

etd-0521103-163102

Degree

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Department

Landscape Architecture

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This is a treatise on an attempt to translate a concept -- the driving principle of a design in the parlance of the design studios at the Louisiana State University School of Landscape Architecture -- into practice, form and function. If form follows function, as states the oft quoted proverb of design credited to Louis Sullivan, then perhaps as much attention should be given to the design of the function as the form. What this treatise will demonstrate is that function designed around a concept can result in physical manifestations, or forms, of that concept. In this case a concept was applied to a community development project. The project in turn created physical manifestations of the concept. The focus of this work is on a project begun in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The concept underlying the Baton Rouge project was to use active stewardship of the land and its people as a means of promoting economic and community development. This concept was put into practice through the creation of the Baton Rouge Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance, or BREADA, the function of which is to foster stewardship of land and community. Among the most evident forms borne of the concept and BREADA are the Red Stick Farmers' Market, the community garden project, and the recently-created Main Street Market in downtown Baton Rouge. Examination of the Baton Rouge project lead to a second premise. The concept that drives the design of the function and form can also guide the creation of the conditions necessary to produce the desired function and form. This includes such seemingly mundane aspects of a project's creation as how it is organized, funded, administered, evaluated, and staffed.

Date

2003

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Bruce Sharky

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1514

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