College of Design

Flowing with the Dutch: The Cultural Ecology of Water in the NetherlandsInternationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference March 23, 2012 Cynthia Lapp Department of Landscape Architecture MLA Cities on Water Program

Department of Landscape Architecture

Cities on WaterCities on Water

Master of Landscape Architecture Program

Connect

2007My first connections in the Netherlands came from two professors at UMN--Julia Rob-inson in Architecture in a May Term course in the Nether-lands, and Laura Musacchio in Landscape Architecture, who sponsored the visit of a Dutch researcher to present and meet with students during Fall semester.

2008Connections I made through these two professors assisted me in arranging a 10-day re-search visit, where I could gather enough information to pursue my MLA capstone proj-ect in the Netherlands in 2009.

2012I still work with some of the original people I met in 2007, and they have all suggested others who are interested in interacting with the class. The network of connection, and op-portunity, grows.

2009I was enthusiastic about the Dutch process, and they were enthusiastic about my research results. I was invited to pres-ent the results of my capstone project at City Hall in Almere

2010The Department of Landscape Architecture was enthusiastic about me sharing my knowl-edge and connections with other MLA students after I graduated. They asked me to develop LA5401 “The Cultural Ecology of Water in the Neth-erlands “ course, as part of the Cities on Water semester option for 2nd-year MLA stu-dents. The course first ran for two weeks in March, 2009 with 14 MLA students.

2011People at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs were enthusiastic about the chance for Master of Urban and Re-gional Planning students to join the two-week class in the Netherlands (one week is dur-ing Spring Break). The course was offered to MURP students as well as the MLAs, and in March 2011, three MURP stu-dents joined the class with 4 MLAs.

2012The Department of Landscape Architecture was enthusiastic about what students had expe-rienced in the course, and ex-panded the class in the Neth-erlands to four weeks. This allowed a design component to be added to the two-week touring component, which was still open to MURP students. This year we had 1 MURP stu-dent and 12 MLA students.

EmailMost of my communication with people in the Netherlands has been through email. Specif-ic questions, cheerful tone and courteousness works well with the style that I have found to be an interesting mix of proper and informal.

Blog SiteThe students create content for a blog about the class. People with whom we interact enjoy reading the students percep-tions about the day, what they have learned, and their experi-ence of the Dutch water man-agement and design culture

Professional LevelPresenting the aim of the class, the tone of the students, and the information about our class (I hand out a business card with the class blog address ev-ery year) infuses our interac-tions with Dutch professionals with the earnest intent of the class.

Cultural RhythmsLearning and following what I have found to be the cultural rhythm of communication is helpful. The Dutch profession-als we interact with like to know the schedule in advance, but also like to have the flex-ibility to change the scope or form of a tour or presentation, or add people or places to the agenda that would add to the students’ understanding of Dutch interactions with water

FlexibilityWhile historically Dutch water management can be seen as a completely controlled sys-tem, there is a certain amount of flexibility inherent in the system...Sometimes people don’t respond quickly to com-munications, and plans will be changed, but it is usually in ser-vice to the intent of the class; understanding Dutch landscape and culture--and due to the fact that people don’t schedule their days as tightly as people in the US tend to do. This also means that someone you get introduced to may be able to fit in a meeting, presentation, or tour for the class next week, or even tomorrow

AllowingWhile I often feel more se-cure as the instructor if all of my days are scheduled in advance, the level of flexibil-ity within people’s schedules, coupled with the enthusiasm they have for interacting with the students’ level of interest, often allows for amazing op-portunities to come up. This means that having a few days that I can switch around in our schedule allows us to take ad-vantage of serendipitous con-nections.

AmplifyThis is the third year of the class, and it continues to grow and diversify as a program. We plan to create an additional May Term Studio in 2013 for students from other disciplines (Architecture, Engineering), as well as a program for pro-fessionals from the US to tour with the classes.

2009The more I learned, the more enthusiastic I became about understanding the multiple layers of Dutch landscape, cul-ture, design and engineering. The people I connected with continued to connect me with others who were enthusiastic about the Dutch history and process, and sharing this with others. Research and work on my capstone project went well.

LA 5401 “The Cultural Ecology of Water in the Netherlands” • Began in 2010

• Part of the Cities on Water semester option for 2nd-year Master of Landscape Architecture students

• Some preparation in MN

• Four weeks in the Netherlands; two weeks touring, two weeks of design charrettes.

• Students do preparatory research, contribute to the class blog, participate in design charrettes, keep sketch-books, and write a summation paper on their experience

• Cities on Water is currently five weeks in MN, four weeks in the Netherlands for MLA students, who then travel to Venice for a combined design studio for five weeks with MArch students

• Current class blog site: http://citiesonwaternl2012.posterous.com

Enthuse

Communicate

Flow