Short answer

Integrate the concept of the 'contemporary sublime' into landscape design projects to foster deeper user engagement with environmental issues and encourage imaginative responses.

Field: Classic Design
Source: Academic Publication (2018)
Method: Conceptual Research and Design Speculation
Evidence: Moderate effect

Landscape design can transform experiences of environmental disruption into opportunities for meaning-making and imaginative engagement. This classic design research insight is drawn from a 2018 study published in Academic Publication. Using Conceptual research and design speculation, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Integrate the concept of the 'contemporary sublime' into landscape design projects to foster deeper user engagement with environmental issues and encourage imaginative responses.

Study

Classic DesignHigh ImpactModerate effect

The Sublime in Landscape Design: Cultivating Meaning from Disruption

Landscape design can transform experiences of environmental disruption into opportunities for meaning-making and imaginative engagement.

Academic Publication · 2018

Key Findings

01The traditional concept of the sublime, linked to overwhelming natural beauty, can be extended to encompass 'negative' aesthetic experiences arising from environmental disruption.
02Landscape design has the potential to act as a mediator, helping individuals engage with and find meaning in these challenging phenomena.
03This engagement can foster imagination, identification, and speculation about future landscape possibilities.

Application

Design takeaway

Integrate the concept of the 'contemporary sublime' into landscape design projects to foster deeper user engagement with environmental issues and encourage imaginative responses.

How to apply

When designing public spaces or environmental interventions, consider how to introduce elements that evoke a sense of awe, challenge, or reflection related to current ecological concerns, thereby prompting deeper user engagement.

Project actions

01Explore how different aesthetic qualities in a landscape can evoke feelings of awe, unease, or contemplation.
02Consider how to represent complex environmental issues through physical design elements and spatial arrangements.

Method & Evidence

AimHow can landscape design be utilized as a medium to facilitate the creation of meaning from contemporary sublime phenomena, particularly those related to environmental disruption?

MethodConceptual Research and Design Speculation

ProcedureThe research explores the historical and contemporary interpretations of the sublime, examining its connection to natural and disrupted landscapes. It then speculates on how landscape architecture can mediate user engagement with these phenomena, proposing new approaches for the discipline.

ContextLandscape Architecture and Environmental Design

Variables

IV["Design elements intended to evoke the sublime","Representation of environmental disruption"]

DV["User's sense of meaning-making","User's imaginative engagement","User's identification with phenomena"]

CV["User's prior knowledge of environmental issues","User's personal aesthetic preferences"]

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Connects design practice to profound philosophical and existential concepts.
+Offers a novel perspective on addressing contemporary environmental challenges through design.

Limitations

It can be challenging to objectively measure or design for subjective experiences like the 'sublime' or 'meaning-making'.

Reliability & validity

Reliability would be challenging due to the subjective nature of aesthetic experience. Validity could be assessed by comparing user interpretations against the designer's intended meaning, perhaps through interviews or qualitative analysis of responses.

Think critically

To what extent can designers ethically 'engineer' experiences of the sublime, and what are the potential risks of aestheticizing environmental crises?

Design Principles

"Design experiences that acknowledge and mediate challenging environmental realities, transforming them into opportunities for meaning-making and creative speculation."

This research suggests that designers can leverage the concept of the sublime, traditionally associated with awe-inspiring nature, to address contemporary environmental challenges like climate change. By carefully orchestrating landscape experiences, designers can help users confront and process complex, even negative, aesthetic phenomena, fostering deeper connection and creative thought.

What This Means for Your Design

Think about how big, sometimes scary, environmental problems like climate change can be part of a landscape design. The idea is that by designing these spaces thoughtfully, people can feel a connection to these issues, understand them better, and even imagine new solutions.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this study when exploring the emotional and psychological impact of design, particularly in relation to environmental themes.
2.Use the concept of the sublime to frame your design's intended user experience and its broader societal relevance.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This research by Roncken (2018) posits that landscape design can serve as a powerful instrument for meaning-making, particularly when engaging with contemporary sublime phenomena such as ecosystem disruption and climate change. By carefully orchestrating aesthetic experiences, designers can mediate user encounters with these complex issues, fostering imaginative engagement and speculation about future possibilities. This perspective offers a valuable framework for considering how design projects can address profound environmental and existential themes.

Source

Academic Publication

Shades of sublime : a design for landscape experiences as an instrument in the making of meaning

journal · 2018

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about the sublime in landscape design: cultivating meaning from disruption?: Integrate the concept of the 'contemporary sublime' into landscape design projects to foster deeper user engagement with environmental issues and encourage imaginative responses. Evidence: Academic Publication (2018).
Why does "The Sublime in Landscape Design: Cultivating Meaning from Disruption" matter for design?: This research suggests that designers can leverage the concept of the sublime, traditionally associated with awe-inspiring nature, to address contemporary environmental challenges like climate change. By carefully orchestrating landscape experiences, designers can help users confront and process complex, even negative, aesthetic phenomena, fostering deeper connection and creative thought.
How can designers apply this research?: Integrate the concept of the 'contemporary sublime' into landscape design projects to foster deeper user engagement with environmental issues and encourage imaginative responses.
What were the main findings?: The traditional concept of the sublime, linked to overwhelming natural beauty, can be extended to encompass 'negative' aesthetic experiences arising from environmental disruption.. Landscape design has the potential to act as a mediator, helping individuals engage with and find meaning in these challenging phenomena.. This engagement can foster imagination, identification, and speculation about future landscape possibilities.
What research method was used?: Conceptual Research and Design Speculation.
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2018 journal from Academic Publication.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing public spaces or environmental interventions, consider how to introduce elements that evoke a sense of awe, challenge, or reflection related to current ecological concerns, thereby prompting deeper user engagement.
What are the limitations?: The research is largely theoretical and speculative, with limited empirical testing of user responses to designed sublime experiences.