COURSES TAUGHT AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY

COURSES TAUGHT AT SUNY ESF

LSA 422 | SENIOR DESIGN STUDIO IV | Fall
During this studio seniors in Landscape Architecture engage service learning at multiple scales addressing a diverse range of complex contemporary issue. 
SERVICE LEARNING
  1. Lake Front Park, Canandaigua NY | 2015
  2. River Front Park in Cazenovia, NY | 2015
  3. Caroline Elementary in  Slaterville, NY | 2014
  4. La Ruta 123 in Puerto Rico | video by Nick Imperial | 2012
A studio exercise on design processes  . Fall 2012
Over the course of our lives we are exposed to a diversity of ideas constituting concepts on the the design process. We all design and have been designing since we were toddlers. However, as students of design we are presented and at times confronted with new ideas on how to engage this process.  With every project we are challenged to implement a sequential and repetitive approach as unique as DNA, an approach that is cumulatively formed and not unique to what we are formally taught in school. Below a sampling of the very essence of a few 3rd year students (Fall 2012) unique way of thinking, seeing, making sense of things and creating captured and represented in video, model or drawing.
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Process, by Nick Imperial
Music Credits:
Oink, Oink Mambo - Chuy Reyes & His Orchestra
Poor Edward - Tom Waits
Ready to Spit - Retox
The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers - Charles Mingus
Process, by Susie Yong

OFF CAMPUS PROGRAM . RESEARCH PROJECTS ABROAD

LSA 425, 458,459 and 460 | Off CAMPUS | Spring and Fall 
Off Campus Research Projects 
The Off Campus program is unique to the Department of Landscape Architecture at SUNY ESF. Every year during the fall semester each faculty member thoughtfully selects a country and designs a presentation including a list of potential study topics for the senior class in Landscape Architecture. After this presentation students spend several weeks conceptualizing research ideas and deciding which country fits these ideas best. Once the country selections are finalized faculty advisors work with a  minimum of three students each. During  the Spring semester we guide our advisees to craft research proposals and prepare for culture shock. The next Fall semester students relocate for three months and work towards their mid-term meeting with their ESF faculty advisor. This is when we travel to the country we had proposed to visit our students, help them improve their work to date, and develop strategies they can employ in finalizing it. Seeing the country through our students' eyes is my favorite part of this program. During these days we move across entire cities and see them from the perspective of their study topic. In many ocassions their perspectives prove valuable and sometimes moving...

Below the places, students and research projects that I have engaged:
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Buenos Aires, Argentina  2016 (in process)
Sara Reinstein
Nick Shannon
Kyle J. Volz
Bryan McKnight
Brian Swank

​Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2013
"Feiras and Favelas: Contested Public Space in Rio de Janeiro" by Nick Imperial
Andy Kiselica
Kyle Nickerbocker
Josh Thayer
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​Copenhagen, Denmark 2014
Charles Oddo
Erica Grohol
Sterling Rung
Victor Prieto
Olivia Lu

Puerto Rico 2012
Ed Li
Amanda Bischof - 
Sara Russo

 LSA 601 Graduate Design Studio II | S16
 LSA 455/655 Professional Practice in Landscape Architecture | S16
LSA 220 INTRODUCTION TO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | Fall
LSA 498/698 PUBLIC SPACE EXPERIMENTAL UNIT | Spring Seminar
LSA 800 GRADUATE CAPSTONE | Advisees:

Esma Meghezzi 2014
Thesis Title: "New Towns in Town"
Project Location - Algeria

Nathan Ogdell 2012 

Reference Letters

Prior to listing me as a reference in your job application or award entry, please consult with me. I will only write reference letters for those who I have taught, employed, and/or advised as a major professor. In order to write the letter I will need the following from you: 
  1. most up to date resume (.pdf or hard copy)
  2. portfolio (it can be near completion - small .pdf file or hard copy)
  3. unofficial grades
  4. cover letter or statement of purpose (draft or final)
  5. web link or hard copy of the job advertisement
  6. a deadline (I typically need two weeks to write a letter during the semester and three during breaks).
  7. be very clear and specify if you need a paper copy in a sealed and signed envelop, or if a link will be emailed to me

Please see Prof. Forsyth's related advice on Planetizen:          http://www.planetizen.com/node/38163

Official Advisees

Please make it a point to meet with me at least once per semester. I much rather sign your registration form after we have met and discussed your academic career. Prior to registration do your research with regard to classes required classes and those of interest to you that can act as an elective. Come to our meeting prepared. Please email me for an appointment at least two weeks prior to registration.

The Landscape Architect's Portfolio, Resume & Cover Letter
The Job Application Package

At Design Workshop's Denver office I was involved in the process of portfolio review, interviews, and recruiting. This experiences and the experience of preparing a portfolio to apply to graduate school and then a teaching position has led me to the investigation and research on what makes a great portfolio, resume/c.v. and cover letter (the Job Application Package and strategies for completing a great job interview). Since 2008 I have been lecturing on this subject at various Universities and venues, including Cornell's Planning and Landscape Architecture Departments, the School of Architecture at the PUCPR and the School of Landscape Architecture at the Polytechnic University in Puerto Rico. In 2015 via the Professional Practice course at SUNY ESF we gather data from various firms and universities across the nation to create a guide and resource for Landscape Architects on the job application package \ forthcoming digital guide