Harvard China Fund in Action: Faculty Conference Grant recipient Gareth Doherty, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design
October 30, 2024
What is landscape fieldwork, and why does it matter? That’s the intriguing question tackled by the colloquium hosted by Gareth Doherty, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, at Harvard Center Shanghai’s colloquium in March 2024. Doherty, who received a Harvard China Fund Faculty Conference Grant, gathered a dynamic mix of scholars from China and beyond. They delved into how conceptualizing fieldwork can shake up the world of landscape architecture. Doherty pointed out that while fieldwork is a staple in the discipline, it hasn’t been explored as deeply as in fields like anthropology or ecology. The conference was a golden opportunity to build a fresh, theoretical foundation for integrating fieldwork into landscape architecture education, research, and practice.
The two-day event, supported by the Harvard China Fund, featured an impressive lineup of speakers, each sharing their insights on landscape fieldwork. The speakers included:
- Dihua Li, associate dean at Peking University, Xiaodi Zheng (Tsinghua University), Jason Ho from the South China University of Technology), and Anna Lambertini of the University of Florence focused on the role of fieldwork in landscape architectural education. They explored how hands-on, real-world experience enhances the way students and educators approach design.
- Xi Zheng, the dean of Beijing Forestry University, discussed the importance of scale in landscape architecture, showing how changes in size impact how we perceive spaces.
- Stanislaus Fung (Harvard GSD) engaged the audience with his research on Suzhou’s historic gardens, using fieldwork to offer new interpretations of these culturally rich spaces.
- Pol Fité Matamoros, PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, presented his fieldwork in Haikou, carried out as part of a GSD course on “Ecological Urbanism Field Research in China.”
- Ziying Tang of Z+T Studio, Shanghai and Hayriye Esbah Tuncay of HET Landscape and Urban Design and Istanbul Technical University explained how landscape fieldwork informs their professional practice, ensuring their designs are grounded in real-world contexts.
Each speaker contributed to a lively discussion, underscoring the importance of fieldwork in both academic and professional landscapes.
The colloquium wrapped up with a hands-on field visit to a “cooperative landscape” in Shanghai, led by Yuelai Liu from Tongji University. This innovative project, focusing on “micro-renewal,” invites residents to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the co-creation, co-building, and co-governance of their community gardens. It’s urban renewal, but with a fun, grassroots twist! As the event came to a close, participants remarked on the unique mix of perspectives shared over the two days. They agreed there’s plenty more to explore, discuss, and publish about landscape fieldwork in China, which has clearly sparked fresh, exciting ideas for the future of landscape architecture.
For more information about Harvard China Fund’s faculty grants, please visit our faculty grants page.
