作者：艾莉森·門登霍爾

“DesignWorkshop的學術底蘊會繼續(xù)推動公司占據(jù)研究型實踐的前沿。我相信，許多中國設計公司和機構(gòu)都會因DesignWorkshop對該使命的持久堅持以及致力于終生學習的精神而深受鼓舞?！?/p>

–景觀建筑教育者理事會研究副會長李明翰

設計工坊

無論是初次參觀DesignWorkshop的訪客還是DesignWorkshop的長期員工，走進六個公司辦公室中的任何一個，就會立即感受到工作室的創(chuàng)新性以及交談的活力。合作氣氛和目標意識在這里是十分明顯的。

一個工作日的典型場景是，項目團隊聚集在開放的工作室，對固定在墻上的設計圖進行考量，設計師們則專心地沉浸于鋪展在大號設計桌上的圖紙。在會議室里，設計團隊正在向客戶匯報，并與其他顧問一同主持戰(zhàn)略會議。他們探討的焦點有可能是度假區(qū)規(guī)劃、社區(qū)規(guī)劃、街道景觀或公園設計。當設計團隊聚集在一起評論并改進他們作品的時候，激烈的討論貫穿于整個工作室。團隊的每一個人，從負責人到實習生，都被期待對討論有所貢獻。這就是DesignWorkshop的文化實景。

合作文化

刻在門上的名稱DesignWorkshop對于員工解決復雜的設計問題以及在實體空間中完成工作都具有重要意義。（參看圖1）熱烈的并且有意向的文化即將來臨。所有DesignWorkshop分公司的共同特點是擁有高層高、大公共桌以及充足的展示設計及草案的圍墻空間，在這樣的公司環(huán)境中，一件件的設計作品被反復創(chuàng)造。所有項目組都需要對自己的設計進行審查，而且要展示給組外的同事。大家在時而親切時而熱烈的氣氛中分享建設性批判意見，但共同的目標是完善設計。設計討論發(fā)生在辦公室的“公共空間”，這樣迫使員工離開自己的辦公桌，摒除設計“盲點”，否則，這些設計“盲點”可能會使員工無法看到所有可能的解決方案。當然，員工也會在自己的辦公桌工作，在繪圖桌上畫圖或者在電腦上建模。但是，DesignWorkshop的文化以及強調(diào)合作的價值觀要求各項工作都是可視化的——無論是固定在墻上、大圖打印、還是投影，以便團隊的每一個人都能看到——從而鼓勵大家進行批判性的對話，這對推動項目設計進入項目決議是必須的。（參看圖2）

城市觀察員簡·雅各布斯在《美國大城市的死與生》（1993年）探討了“混合”產(chǎn)生的活力，而“混合”發(fā)生在多元化使用與城市居民在一天中不同時段于街道和公共空間活動相聚集的時候。雅各布斯把熱鬧城市人行道的復雜秩序比作“精巧復雜的芭蕾舞劇，每個舞者和樂團都特色鮮明，奇跡般地相互為用，構(gòu)成了一個有序的整體?！盌esignWorkshop強調(diào)以開放式的工作室作為創(chuàng)造和發(fā)明的空間，讓團隊成員聚在一起共同交流，以開發(fā)出新的設計，這樣的做法正是借鑒了上述的想法。團隊成員及其技能和經(jīng)驗都聚集在工作室內(nèi)，相得益彰。

史蒂文·約翰遜在《涌現(xiàn)：螞蟻、人腦、城市與軟件的生命連結(jié)》（2001）中探討了“集體智能”的現(xiàn)象，從一個蟻群的例子開始，蟻群通常被誤認為是由發(fā)行指令的一只蟻后統(tǒng)治的。而事實上，蟻群是集體做決定的，共同使群居生活協(xié)調(diào)發(fā)展。通過隨機相聚，每只螞蟻都敏銳地關注彼此的動作與行為。從相互交流中所產(chǎn)生的是一種自我組織系統(tǒng)，它能解決蟻群內(nèi)更大的問題。約翰遜還把城市視為自然發(fā)生系統(tǒng)。與雅各布斯一樣，他也著迷于人行道，它“把隨機排列的大量個體混合在一起”，并且促進當?shù)鼗雍托畔⒔涣?，而這些信息在城市尺度上會匯集成“復雜秩序”。DesignWorkshop實踐的關注點是場所營造——公司外所實現(xiàn)的迷人公共空間設計——已被應用于產(chǎn)生設計的工作室。這就是公司的公共空間，它讓設計團隊集中在一起相互交流和解決問題。這是DesignWorkshop自身概念的核心，它能促進團隊合作，有助于處理復雜項目。

目前有許多公司都在探索如何創(chuàng)造可以鼓勵互動和創(chuàng)新的工作環(huán)境。國際設計公司IDEO的共同工作空間是經(jīng)常被提及的例子，同樣被提到的還有硅谷的企業(yè)園區(qū)中的皮克斯動畫工作室和Facebook。試圖闡明通力協(xié)作的價值以及促使其成功的背景和條件的文章和商業(yè)書籍也正泛濫成災。喬恩·R·卡岑巴赫和道格拉斯·K·史密斯在《團隊智慧：建立高績效組織》（2006年）一書中對組織研究團隊、生產(chǎn)和構(gòu)思的公司進行了描述，并探討其他許多組織忽視群組努力的潛能或致使其效率低下的原因。同樣，《塞氏企業(yè)傳奇——最不同尋常的成功企業(yè)的故事》（1993年）講述了巴西公司塞氏企業(yè)的故事，塞氏企業(yè)是里卡多·塞姆勒的家族企業(yè)，它通過非正式的實踐對機構(gòu)進行變革，在提高創(chuàng)新力和生產(chǎn)力的同時，也改變了現(xiàn)有的公司文化。

成立四十多年以來，早在最近許多探索如何優(yōu)化企業(yè)工作場所的書籍和機構(gòu)出現(xiàn)之前，DesignWorkshop就已擁有最佳合作環(huán)境的強烈觀念。在中心開放式工作室以外的區(qū)域是個人的工作空間，而角落辦公室是不存在的。相反，不同資歷的員工分散在不分等級的各個辦公桌。在這一場景中，交談可以被聽到，信息也可以在所有的員工中高效傳播。與設計負責人的近距離接觸（和親近）對于經(jīng)驗較少的員工來說是有啟迪意義的，員工與不同角色、知識和專業(yè)技術相融合可以強化辦公室工作氛圍的合作性。

合作在DesignWorkshop意味著許多事情。既可以意味著與坐在數(shù)張辦公桌遠的人并排工作，也可以意味著與其它州或國家的同事共享文件和工作成果。某些項目團隊是由來自于DesignWorkshop六個辦事處的員工組成的，視特定專業(yè)技術需求或者在最后期限內(nèi)人員是否有空而定。通過音頻、網(wǎng)絡和視頻會議系統(tǒng)，就有可能實現(xiàn)辦事處之間以及與客戶之間的合作。技術可以使設計對話超越各個辦事處之間的以及與全球客戶之間的距離，使不同辦事處成員組成的團隊能夠完成工作。它能確保辦事處之間能夠很容易地聯(lián)系到彼此，避免相互隔離，而這種隔離正是許多有多個辦公地點的公司的弊端。

DesignWorkshop的管理結(jié)構(gòu)是對企業(yè)普遍存在的等級制度的公然挑戰(zhàn)。員工持股計劃使員工享有公司的所有權(quán)權(quán)益，并且使人人有功于公司成功的心態(tài)得以強化。公司的每月結(jié)算與收入預測對每一個人都是共享的，這些人包括從電話接線員到高級職員。辦公室記分卡描繪了每個辦公室的健康情況，不僅顯示了營業(yè)收入、積壓代辦的事務和資源運用等財政狀況，而且顯示設計審查以及最近獲獎的數(shù)量，這些是設計迭代、卓越和辦公室可視化的指標。這種理念和不尋常的透明度是以《偉大的商業(yè)游戲：釋放能量與賬目共享管理的盈利性》（1994年）所論及的觀點為基礎，這本書推廣賬目共享的管理方法，員工獲得信息授權(quán)，有歸屬感和經(jīng)營業(yè)績的責任感。DesignWorkshop的員工都具有創(chuàng)業(yè)的態(tài)度，公司多年來擴展到不同的區(qū)域，可以明顯感受到灌輸這種精神所創(chuàng)造的價值觀。例如，為客戶提供市場分析和戰(zhàn)略發(fā)展規(guī)劃的高爾夫球場設計與開發(fā)服務都是DesignWorkshop的員工推出的，他們都是出自對專業(yè)咨詢領域的酷愛和興趣，并且證明了把公司的服務擴展到這些領域的財務可行性。

產(chǎn)生于學術界

DesignWorkshop的名稱以及該公司的經(jīng)營方式來源于其創(chuàng)辦人在創(chuàng)辦設計公司之前作為專業(yè)學者所獲得的經(jīng)驗。20世紀60年代末在北卡羅來納州立大學教學期間，喬·波特和丹·恩賽因認為有必要在學術與專業(yè)學科合作遭到破壞和扼殺的領域展開工作。1969年，他們與來自于不同學科部門的其他兩名教授一起開放其實踐，目的是創(chuàng)辦一個“研討會”，讓整個大學的教育工作者、業(yè)內(nèi)人士及學生之間能夠合作無間。該公司被命名為“DesignWorkshop”，意在描述一種合作文化。

雖然現(xiàn)在喬·波特從公司退休了，但是，與公司成立之初一樣，他仍然擁有與創(chuàng)建DesignWorkshop之初相同的美好意愿。最近在回顧公司的起源時，波特指出，“我們的糧倉建立于商業(yè)、法律、設計、建筑、景觀建筑、工程、財務和其它學科以及創(chuàng)造建成環(huán)境和維持生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的特殊興趣中。這些筒倉生于長于學術界，而在學術界，受到獎賞的學者往往以犧牲合作和學科聯(lián)系為代價專攻某一學科并越走越深。基于研討會的概念組建公司，是為了嘗試讓不同行業(yè)的人為了共同的目標而在一起工作。處理復雜的規(guī)劃與設計問題需要來自于不同學科的思考者。使其合作的方法是把設計工作建立在共享的價值觀和原則的基礎之上。”（參看圖3）

基于原則的實踐

DesignWorkshop的實踐是由四項原則界定的——綜合性、包容性、透明化和知識——這對合作和嚴謹設計方案都是必要的。第一項原則綜合性最好用圖形來表示：（參看圖4）

通過可持續(xù)發(fā)展四個必不可少的領域——環(huán)境、社區(qū)、經(jīng)濟和藝術，可實現(xiàn)產(chǎn)生設計方案的原則。這些關鍵領域構(gòu)成了該公司的DWLegacyDesign?方法的連環(huán)鎖。每一個項目都代表著平衡這四領域目標的機會，以完成為對環(huán)境敏銳的、支持社區(qū)的、經(jīng)濟可持續(xù)發(fā)展的以及可產(chǎn)生藝術效果的項目。由于DesignWorkshop承接的項目具有一定的復雜性，因此需要一種四重盈余法才能真正實現(xiàn)可持續(xù)發(fā)展。第二個原則包容性明確了DesignWorkshop產(chǎn)生設計理念的方法。場所營造的業(yè)務包括廣泛征求設計團隊、咨詢專家以及客戶與社區(qū)的意見。

第三個原則決策過程透明化體現(xiàn)在工作室的環(huán)境以及與群體互動以推進工作所展現(xiàn)的公開性。展示項目目標和決策依據(jù)有益于所有的參與者，使團隊更具凝聚力。

第四項原則是知識。DesignWorkshop非常重視基于項目的研究，從而帶來知識發(fā)展和設計創(chuàng)新。評估項目的績效，使團隊能夠檢驗設計策略、擴展專業(yè)知識并確定是否有可能進一步創(chuàng)新。

正規(guī)的設計方法

自成立以來，DesignWorksho p的指導思想一直是與綜合性、包容性、決策過程透明化和知識有關的以過程為導向的理念。但是20世紀90年代，公司的領導層決定在股東內(nèi)部使這種基于原則的設計方法正規(guī)化。為了以真正合作的方式進行經(jīng)營，作為研討會的參與者，設計團隊必須遵循一種共享的方法論。DWLegacyDesign?的方法是對綜合性、透明化、嚴謹和迭代過程的概括。公司由此制定出方法圖表，作為員工的設計路徑圖。（參看圖5）

該圖表描述的是如何利用戰(zhàn)略性會議啟動每一個項目，從而為團隊開展工作以及吸引客戶和股東奠定基礎。在會議過程中，團隊著手調(diào)查了解項目面臨的機遇和挑戰(zhàn)，并進行綜合調(diào)查為項目相關研究提供信息和確立績效目標。按照學術實踐，團隊為每一個新項目制定了一份項目挑戰(zhàn)聲明（稱之為“項目困境”）和假設聲明（稱之為“項目主題”）。在團隊的集體努力下，“項目困境”使團隊產(chǎn)生凝聚力，繞開障礙，從而成功獲得設計方案。“項目主題”設定了最終設計的愿景，也時刻提醒團隊所要追求的結(jié)果。

每個項目啟動時舉行的氣氛熱烈的會議確定了項目目標，而這個目標平衡了經(jīng)濟問題、社區(qū)價值、環(huán)保問題和設計藝術，使其成為凝聚的愿景。有了目標，就有了研究任務，團隊成員被安排鉆研與項目有關的議題。做進一步探究，可以使團隊能夠預測完成項目的量化績效利益。對設計發(fā)現(xiàn)、合作和責任性這一初始過程做出概括，可為團隊提供路徑，對項目的成功是至關重要。

快速循環(huán)

DWLegacyDesign?的核心元素是快速循環(huán)的概念，用方法圖表左側(cè)上的環(huán)線表示。快速循環(huán)屬于迭代過程，是公司的設計實踐的核心。設計不是線性的運動項目；而是會演化的。DesignWorkshop的項目是復雜的并且位于特定場地的。設計產(chǎn)生于可控的周期內(nèi)，而可控周期是由控制、鞏固和向客戶提交工作并反饋意見時產(chǎn)生的一系列情感宣泄的探索的集合。DW的董事會主席庫爾特·卡伯特森補充指出，“快速循環(huán)也能夠被視為兩種思維模式之間的碰撞過程——創(chuàng)造性思維和批判性思維。圖表里的環(huán)形描述的是我們作為設計師經(jīng)歷的過程——先嘗試做一些事情，從中學習一些東西，再嘗試做其它的事情，以便從中學習一些新的東西。”這種在專業(yè)實踐過程中試驗性的模式被M.I.T.社會科學家唐納德·A·斯肯稱為“在行動中反思”，這位科學家在設計過程中識別出三種對于嚴格迭代的獨特方法：探索、移動檢驗和假設檢驗。在DesignWorkshop，項目經(jīng)歷的周期數(shù)取決于其空間大小、進度和費用以及團隊對設計質(zhì)量和完成程度的評估。以這種方式處理設計，只要在圖表上標注，就逐漸向員工灌輸了迭代的重要性。設計團隊被希冀可以在一定時期內(nèi)專心工作，同時也可以定期停下來接受外界的觀點。設計如何演化和進步是公司合作文化的關鍵。

進行設計審查是團隊征求客觀反饋意見以便為設計提供信息的一種方式，這是工作室的重要基礎，也是公司環(huán)境是否健康的最終檢驗。設計審查有許多不同的形式。有些設計審查是在項目例會上進行的，會議上的對話僅限于想要對設計進展進行更新的團隊成員之間。其它設計審查發(fā)生在個人辦公桌旁，這時也許一名正出訪的負責人想要對項目進度進行檢驗。但是，研討會的核心是在辦公室或公司范圍內(nèi)召集進行的設計審查，目的是廣泛征求客觀性批判意見。在此情況下，整個辦公室會在午餐時間聚在一起聽取團隊的簡短報告。披薩餅是參會的酬勞。舉行設計審查有多個目的：尋求設計反饋意見、分享客戶對最近匯報的反應并指明下一步的方向、準備新項目的訪談，以及/或者對獎項提交的草案進行分享。這樣的設計審查是帶有批判性思維的深思熟慮過程的一部分，旨在為進一步的創(chuàng)新研究做好準備。（參看圖6）

知識的形成

DesignWorkshop的員工通常會討論參與批判性實踐的意義。在這一點上，他們認為應該關注那些影響到即使不是地球和全人類也至少是建成環(huán)境的全球性議題。公司用幻燈片按季度進行情況介紹，歡迎新員工加入，其中就包括2007年的《新聞周刊》封面，該封面突出的是一個地球儀，并把描述政治、古生物學、金融、藝術、通俗文化、科學等內(nèi)容的圖像網(wǎng)格映射在地球儀的格網(wǎng)上。標題為“你需要立刻知道的181件事”。與新員工分享這一圖像的目的是向他們灌輸超越某個特定項目的范圍和實際界限看問題的重要性，并且使他們關注總體建成環(huán)境和具體項目場地的廣泛影響因素。綜合型DWLegacyDesign?方法的核心是強調(diào)高額的調(diào)查研究與多意信息的綜合處理。

DesignWorkshop項目團隊時常尋求了解各種主題，并將其融入設計，而這或許在上一代被認為已超出傳統(tǒng)景觀建筑實踐的范圍或能力。公司項目的復雜性迫使其團隊擁有大量的信息和工具，以便進行設計和對成功進行評估。除了關注實體空間設計和形式創(chuàng)造之外，一個典型的團隊可能會計算總體規(guī)劃社區(qū)的職住比，以求減少發(fā)展產(chǎn)生的車行次數(shù)或路程。他們可能會關注社會公正的問題，或者利用有針對性的調(diào)查確保項目的社區(qū)參與策略考慮到了受影響的部分人口。抑或，他們可能會研究某個區(qū)域的零售空缺或交通事故率，以便了解和衡量在實施街景改造前后的影響。批判性實踐需要智慧性運營，并且需要對影響建成環(huán)境的廣泛議題保持高度注意。

由于承認項目的復雜性，DesignWorkshop不僅著手努力收集有助于設計決策的信息用來指導公司的最佳實踐，而且還開展正規(guī)的研究，以創(chuàng)造行業(yè)的新知識。作為這項工作的一部分，項目團隊在設計中以及實施后越來越多地使用循證設計來衡量項目的績效。緊接著新項目合同的簽訂，任務團隊會聚集在一起，尋找出會影響設計和實施結(jié)果的各種相關因素和機遇。研究清單和指標議題會被進行審查和優(yōu)先考慮。在這次初始會話中圍繞著小組的關鍵問題是，“我們和我們的客戶對于這個項目想要講述什么故事？”在設計工作開始之前問一下這個問題并想象一下最后的結(jié)果，有助于構(gòu)建該項目的議程。該會話會產(chǎn)生一個綜合性大綱，各種因素和機遇則變成是與環(huán)境、社區(qū)、經(jīng)濟或藝術有關的研究主題和目標，它們會分配給團隊的不同成員。（參看圖7）

在整個設計過程中，項目團隊會針對已設定的目標對設計進行評估。在起初設定的可衡量目標是評估項目過程中備選設計方案的一種工具。在這個階段，設計尚未實現(xiàn)，因此僅可顯示出成功的跡象。直到在設計實施后進行績效評估，才能產(chǎn)生成功的證據(jù)。很少設計公司有能力自己承接這一工作，這就是DesignWorkshop積極參與景觀建筑基金會（LAF）的“景觀績效系列案例研究倡議（CSI）”的原因。這一計劃使實踐者與學術團隊相合作，而學術團隊開展的嚴謹研究可對建成項目交付的可持續(xù)景觀績效利益做出衡量。正如DesignWorkshop在過去三年里與猶他州立大學合作，這種合作可確保對項目進行客觀研究，并且可以使用科學方法對各種主張進行驗證。這些研究已發(fā)布在LAF網(wǎng)站上（見側(cè)欄），作為行業(yè)提高其可持續(xù)發(fā)展實踐水平的資源。此外，學術團隊也在同行評議的出版物發(fā)表研究，并在各項會議上展示，如：景觀建筑教育者理事會（CELA）。

知識必須在項目背景下形成并在項目團隊中進行交流，對這種期望必不可少的是DesignWorkshop門戶，這是分享整個公司的知識和信息的內(nèi)部網(wǎng)站。每個人都可以看到在該門戶公布的一系列信息，從員工結(jié)婚通告到辦公室聯(lián)誼會，從公眾會議召開的最佳實踐到不透水表面減少的新方法。其中大部分信息都在內(nèi)部網(wǎng)站的主題頁面上，每個頁面都有一個DWLegacyDesign?的指標議題。從城市熱島效應到植物技術再到生態(tài)排水溝，這些在線網(wǎng)頁收集了公司內(nèi)外部的信息，包括基準目標的范例、設計策略、在線計算器以及與各組織機構(gòu)的鏈接，其中這些組織機構(gòu)在主題、文章、白皮書和示范項目多方面各有所長。該門戶還為全公司的社區(qū)實踐提供了一個家園，它把擁有共同設計興趣的員工聚集在一起，也把在某一特殊領域主管提升公司能力的職員聚集起來，這些特殊領域諸如：數(shù)字化表現(xiàn)或綠色屋頂設計。要在DesignWorkshop工作，必須成為網(wǎng)絡化社區(qū)的成員，這個社區(qū)重視知識，每一個人都有望為知識的擴展作出貢獻。

持續(xù)學習

DesignWorkshop極力強調(diào)持續(xù)學習，這既是為了員工的專業(yè)發(fā)展，也是為了把新思路和專業(yè)知識注入到每一個項目中。希望員工提升專業(yè)知識并與同事分享以促進實踐，這是公司基于學術的構(gòu)成方式。這種注重學習的方式不僅體現(xiàn)在全公司的正規(guī)計劃上，也體現(xiàn)在各個項目內(nèi)容中。

DesignWorkshop的員工“五年計劃”描繪了員工在公司前五年被賦予的期望，這些期望包括增長知識以及確立成功的、令人滿意的職業(yè)生涯憑證。該計劃明確了建立基本技能、展示思想領導力、攻讀研究生課程及獲得專業(yè)許可和認證的目標和時間線。必須有研究生學歷才能晉升到領導職位。公司深信，攻讀研究生學位是一種轉(zhuǎn)型經(jīng)歷，可以增強自信心、提升智能和個人成熟度、提高專業(yè)能力。員工出席會議并發(fā)表文章也是受到鼓勵的?！拔迥暧媱潯钡哪繕酥荚诿枥L一種使青年才俊有計劃的盡快發(fā)展而不是任其隨機努力的過程。DesignWorkshop強調(diào)知識的發(fā)展和共享，也強調(diào)通過認證和學位鞏固知識，力求促使員工盡快從新手發(fā)展成大師。一年兩次的績效評議是使每個員工能夠針對專業(yè)發(fā)展目標衡量其進步的里程碑。

公司每年都會計劃舉行一系列內(nèi)部員工和特邀專家的午餐時間報告會。一個月舉行數(shù)次的“午餐學習會”針對與設計、特定項目類型或一般技能培訓相關的主題進行簡短的報告。各個辦公室的員工都會連接到網(wǎng)絡會議聽取報告，并在每個講座總結(jié)時參與討論。最近的主題包括雨洪管理、城市行道樹、植物修復、公共藝術、數(shù)字建模、會議簡易化、項目管理和GIS。

自2006年以來，DesignWorkshop已針對各個主題或項目類型召開了10多次全公司座談會，其中有許多是公司重點關注的領域，包括城市廊道設計、種植設計、新社區(qū)開發(fā)、公園設計和社區(qū)綜合規(guī)劃。當幾個DesignWorkshop辦公室在做同一類型的項目時，就會召開會議，使團隊能夠分享最佳實踐。外部的嘉賓也會被邀請作為主題演講者，并確立討論框架。處理相似問題的數(shù)個項目團隊會應邀參與簡短的報告會分享最佳實踐和接收反饋意見。雖然參與座談會會損失員工趕工期的緊迫感，也會消耗員工一天中的部分帶薪時間，但是公司領導層認為，這些會議可擴展行業(yè)最佳實踐的意識、提升項目設計并加強所有辦公室之間的聯(lián)系。這些會議強化了“研討會”的概念。

公司確信，使員工與知識相聯(lián)系，并教會他們?nèi)绾芜M行項目相關的研究將有利于實踐進步，這種信念已經(jīng)使旅程和探索超越了DW六個辦事的局限。從2005年至2007年，整個公司都會到美國的不同城市進行年度休假會議。2005年內(nèi)華達拉斯維加斯集會的重點是設計方法。2006年，員工到訪俄勒岡州波特蘭，其重點是關于環(huán)境和藝術，這兩者構(gòu)成了DWLegacyDesign?的主要范疇。社區(qū)和經(jīng)濟是2007年伊利諾伊州芝加哥會議的重點。這些類似會議的聚集舉辦講座、分組座談會，也可以參觀示范城市項目，會議由內(nèi)部專家和發(fā)言嘉賓擔任主持，對到訪城市的建成環(huán)境所取得的綜合性可持續(xù)發(fā)展實踐提出特別的見解。（參看圖8）

“在DesignWorkshop工作就像是回到學校一樣，”喬什·布魯克斯說道。他畢業(yè)于巴吞魯日路易斯安那州立大學的羅伯特·賴希景觀建筑學院，取得學士學位后新近加入公司?！拔艺娴暮苄蕾p貫穿整個年度的所有學習活動。頻繁舉行的設計審查為工作室注入了探索意識和批判意識，為設計探索奠定了基調(diào)?！?/p>

與學術界的聯(lián)系

作為一家學術界出身的公司，DesignWorkshop與美國各大高校的設計計劃以及全國范圍內(nèi)的教授都維持著密切的聯(lián)系。猶他州立大學的景觀建筑計劃已被指定為公司檔案室的接收者。數(shù)年來，公司創(chuàng)建了一項“駐院老師”計劃，邀請教授在休假日或暑假在公司的一個或所有辦事處里工作。這些安排產(chǎn)生了巨大的相互利益。對于學者而言，他們可以利用這個機會參與專業(yè)實踐，并利用這些時間把研究運用于即將實施的項目。而與教員的互動，使員工有機會直接向在某一特定領域有著豐富知識的專家學習。由于DesignWorkshop擁有以過程為導向的設計實踐以及為了追求設計方案而共享的方法論，學術到訪者在工作室往往有一種賓至如歸的感覺。喬治亞州立大學環(huán)境設計學院景觀建筑系的富蘭克林教授兼美國雨洪設計和技術專家布魯斯·弗格森已在DesignWorkshop工作了兩個夏天，波爾州立大學景觀建筑教授萊斯·史密斯也在其休假期間花了數(shù)個月的時間在DesignWorkshop，對藝術創(chuàng)作與設計之間的交叉點進行強化。（參看圖9）

DesignWorkshop贊助兩項縮小學術界與專業(yè)實踐的距離的計劃。第一項計劃是“設計周”，期間，負責人及數(shù)名員工會與一系列高校名單中的景觀建筑或規(guī)劃本科課程的老師合作，舉行一場為期一周的專家研討會，重點是討論特定場所的設計問題。給學生講授如何開展綜合性設計過程之后，會創(chuàng)建跨學科團隊重點解決復雜的設計問題。在志愿者活動時間，與學生互動并教會他們?nèi)绾伍_展嚴謹?shù)膶I(yè)實踐對公司的員工而言是很鼓舞人心的，這也使我們與教職工和學術機構(gòu)建立了新的聯(lián)系。學者和學生都會接觸到公司公布的研討會方法以及由于跨學科的努力帶來的累累碩果。迄今為止，公司已在數(shù)個享有聲望的設計學院舉行了“設計周”，包括克萊姆森大學、肯塔基州立大學、路易斯安那州立大學、德州農(nóng)工大學和賓夕法尼亞州立大學。（參看圖10）

此外，DesignWorkshop還贊助一項年度暑期實習計劃。公司在六個辦事處內(nèi)總共征集約12個實習申請。每一年，在暑期的第一個星期，其中一個辦事處會被指定主持由所有實習生參加的高強度的多天設計研討會。學生沉浸在公司的合作文化中，并學習DWLegacyDesign?方法的過程。然后，每一名學生會被分配到DesignWorkshop的其中一個辦事處，把暑期剩余的時間花在客戶委托的公司項目上。（參看圖11）

合作的意向文化

DesignWorkshop的名稱、實體空間、綜合性設計理念、合作設計原則以及共享的方法論不斷強化著“研討會”的概念。公司的每一個人都有責任秉承合作文化。

每一名員工都是研討會的主體。在很大程度上，設計團隊會自我組織并發(fā)起會話，從而在以發(fā)現(xiàn)為導向的環(huán)境中提升理念。不過，必須培養(yǎng)合作文化。為了提升研討會的理念并反復灌輸這種實踐方法，由每個辦公室派出的LegacyDesign代表組成的團隊每個月會集會一次，分享新的研究或者通過績效指標評估設計和建成效果的方法。他們還會討論每個辦公室的研討會文化情況，并根據(jù)需要采取培育措施。如果某個辦公室的設計審查流程和團隊合作已衰退，這些管理人員將鼓勵小組改變行為方式，并且在工作室共用區(qū)域征求項目團隊外人員的意見。在其它情況下，可能安排辦公室之間的設計審查，以激發(fā)全公司的交流和思路分享。

簡·雅各布斯寫道，“沒有強大、包容的生命核心，一個城市往往會變成彼此孤立的利益的收集站。它在社會、文化和經(jīng)濟上的產(chǎn)出很難大于各獨立部分的總和?！必S富的系統(tǒng)、用途和人的重疊參與才形成了極其重要的城市空間。把這一思路運用于設計工作室，設計師的關注領域以及不同觀點的傳播對工作室的生存是至關重要的，因為工作室是一個知識形成和復雜設計問題解決方案生成的地方。最高設計質(zhì)量的實現(xiàn)是依靠研討會團隊的貢獻，而不是單單依靠個人的行為。在DesignWorkshop，我們每天都在有意地創(chuàng)造這種條件以秉承公司的文化，這是公司創(chuàng)辦的核心，也是公司持續(xù)運營到今天的方法。

艾莉森·門登霍爾是DesignWorkshop的綜合型可持續(xù)設計實踐DWLegacyDesign?的總監(jiān)。她開發(fā)了DesignWorkshop的景觀設計、城市設計和土地規(guī)劃實踐的研究工具和模型，并講授強調(diào)公司建成工程的績效衡量的方法論知識。阿利森因其在大型、復雜的多學科設計和規(guī)劃工作的項目領導能力而著稱。艾莉森是哈佛大學和哈佛設計研究院（GSD）的研究生，是GSD校友理事會和景觀建筑基金董事會的一員。

A Design Workshop

Whether one is a first-time visitor to Design W orkshop or a long-time Design Workshop employee, when walking into any of the firm’s six offices, there is an immediate sense of the creative energy of the design studio and the liveliness of the conversations. The collaborative atmosphere and sense of purpose are palpable.

On a typical day, project teams are gathered in the open studio space, considering designs that are pinned up on the wall and designers are leaning intently over drawings spread on large layout tables. Conference rooms are filled with design teams presenting to clients and leading strategy sessions with other consultants.Perhaps a resort or a master-planned community or a streetscape or a park is the focus. Boisterous discussions about proposed designs are heard throughout the studio as teams huddle together to critique and advance their work. Everyone on teams, from the principals-in-charge to the student interns, is expected to contribute to the conversation. This is Design Workshop’s culture in action.

Culture of Collaboration

The name on the door, Design Workshop, speaks volumes about the way staf f members conduct themselves to solve complex design problems and about the physical space in which the work is accomplished.(see f g. 1)It heralds a culture of collaboration that is intense and intentional. Designs are created and iterated in the common areas which, in all Design Workshop’s off ces, are def ned by high ceilings,large community tables, and ample wall space where plans and sketches are gathered. All project teams are expected to conduct design reviews where the work is presented to colleagues beyond the design team. Constructive critique is shared in an atmosphere – sometimes genial, sometimes heated – with the common goal of improving a design. Design discussions take place in the “public space” of the off ce to force staf f to leave their desks and discard any design “blinders” that may inhibit seeing all the possible solutions. Certainly, employees work at their own desks, drawing on drafting tables or modeling on the computer. However, the culture of Design Workshop and the value placed on collaboration require that all work be visible – pinned up on the walls, printed large or projected so everyone on the team can see it – to spur the critical conversations that are necessary to propel project designs into project resolutions. (see f g. 2)

In The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1993), urban observer Jane Jacobs discusses the vibrancy created by the “mingling” that takes place when there is a convergence of diverse uses and urban dwellers moving through a city’s streets and public spaces at different times of day. Jacobs likens the complex order of a lively city sidewalk to “an intricate ballet in which the individual dancers and ensembles all have distinctive parts which miraculously reinforce each other and compose an orderly whole.” Design Workshop’s emphasis on the open studio as a space of creation and invention where team members encounter and engage with each other to develop new designs borrows from this idea. Members of the team and their varied skills and experiences concentrate in the studio and complement each other.i

Steven Johnson discusses the phenomenon of “collective intelligence” in Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software (2001),leading off with an example of an ant colony which is often misunderstood to be governed by the queen, a single individual who issues directives. In fact the decision-making and social coordination of an ant colony are made collectively .Through random encounters, individual ants are keenly aware of each other’s movements and actions. What emerges from their interactions is a self-organizing system for solving larger problems within the colony. Johnson also focuses on cities as emergent systems. Like Jacobs, he shares a fascination with sidewalks,which “mix large numbers of individuals in random configurations” and foster the local interactions and exchanges of information that in agglomerate into “complex order” at the city scale. The place-making focus of Design W orkshop’s practice –the engaging public spaces the f rm implements outside its walls – has been applied to the studios in which designs are developed. They are the public spaces of the company where design teams interact and solve problems collectively. They are central to Design Workshop’s conception of itself and to fostering the teamwork that is necessary to tackle complex projects.ii

Many companies today are exploring how to create work environments that spur interaction and innovation. The common work spaces of international design f rm IDEO are a frequently mentioned example as are the corporate campuses of Silicon Valley such as Pixar Animation Studios and Facebook. And there is a proliferation of articles and business books that attempts to address the value of collaborative efforts and the context and conditions for making them successful. In The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization (2006), Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith pro f le companies that form teams for research, productivity,and idea generation and also explore why many other organizations overlook the potential of group ef forts or implement them inef fectively.iiiSimilarly, Maverick: The Success Story Behind the W orld’s Most Unusual W orkplace (1993)captures the story of the Brazilian company Semco, the family business of Ricardo Semler, who transformed the organization through unorthodox practices that increased innovation and productivity while simultaneously changing existing company culture.iv

Since its founding over forty years ago, and in advance of many recent books and offices exploring the optimization of the work place, Design W orkshop has had strong notions about optimal settings for collaboration. Beyond the open studio areas that are central to each of f ce are individual work spaces, and corner of f ces are nowhere to be found. Instead, staf f members of varying seniority are dispersed in non-hierarchical arrangements of desks. In this scenario, conversations are overheard and information is ef f ciently disseminated across all staf f levels. Such close access (and proximity)to design principals is edifying for less experienced staff, and the intermingling of staf f with diverse roles, knowledge, and expertise reinforces the collaborative nature of the off ce’s workshop atmosphere.

Collaboration means many things at Design W orkshop. It can mean working side by side with someone who sits a few desks away, or it can mean sharing f les and work efforts with a colleague in another state or country. Some project teams are composed of staff members from several of Design Workshop’s six off ces based on the need for a particular expertise or someone’s availability to help on a deadline.Inter-office and client collaboration is made possible through audio, web, and video conferencing systems. Technology enables design conversations to span the distances between off ces throughout the United States and with clients across the globe, bridging the distances so that inter-of f ce teams can be deployed to get the work done. It ensures that one of f ce can easily reach out to another, and it avoids the isolation that characterizes many other f rms with multiple locations.

Design Workshop’s management structure defies the hierarchy typically found in a corporate setting. An employee stock ownership plan provides staf f with an ownership interest in the f rm and reinforces a mentality that everyone contributes to its success. Monthly billing and revenue projections are shared with everyone at the f rm, from the person who answers the phone to senior staff. Off ce scorecards paint a picture of each of f ce’s health and show not only f nancial performance such as revenues, backlog and utilization but also the number of design reviews and recent awards won which are indicators of design iteration, excellence, and of f ce visibility.This philosophy and unusual level of transparency are grounded in the ideas covered in The Great Game of Business: Unlocking the Power and Profitability of Open-Book Management (1994), which promotes an open-book management approach where employees are empowered by information and feel a sense of ownership and accountability to the performance of the operation.vThere is an entrepreneurial attitude among staff at Design Workshop, and the proof of the value created by instilling this spirit can be seen in the dif ferent areas into which the f rmhas expanded over the years. For instance, golf course design and Development Services, the group that provides market analysis and strategic development planning for clients, were both launched by individual employees who were driven by a passion and interest in these areas of professional consultation and were able to prove the f nancial viability of expanding the f rm’s services into these areas.

圖4 (fig.4)CREDIT:DesignWorkshopDesign Workshop’s comprehensive DW Legacy Design ? approach ensures that projects are environmentally sensitive, community supported, economically sustainable and artfully executed.DesignWorkshop的DWLegacyDesign?方法確保項目是對環(huán)境敏銳的、支持社區(qū)的、經(jīng)濟的可持續(xù)發(fā)展的以及可產(chǎn)生藝術效果的。

圖5 (fig.5)CREDIT:DesignWorkshopDesign Workshop’s method diagram provides an outline for a comprehensive approach to the project, as well as how the design will be iterated and evaluated. DesignWorkshop的方法圖給項目提供了一個綜合性方法的輪廓，以及如何迭代和評估設計。

Borne of Academia

The Workshop name and the way the firm operates stem from experiences its founders had as academics prior to starting a design f rm. During a teaching stint at University of North Carolina in the late 1960s, Joe Porter and Don Ensign saw a need to work around areas of specialization that separate and stif e collaboration between academic and professional disciplines. In 1969 they opened their practice with two other professors from dif ferent academic departments for the purpose of creating a “workshop” where educators from across the university, people from industry and students could collaborate without barriers. The f rm was named “Design Workshop” to describe a culture of people working in collaboration.

Although Joe Porter is now retired from the firm, his intentions in creating Design Workshop are as fresh now as they were at the f rm’s inception. Recalling recently the genesis of the f rm, Porter noted that “Silos exist in business, law, design, architecture,landscape architecture, engineering, finance, and other disciplines and special interests responsible for creating built environments and maintaining ecosystems.These silos are born and nurtured in academia where scholars are rewarded for becoming expert in a single subject and digging deeper and deeper into that subject at the expense of collaboration and connecting disciplines. Forming a company based on the concept of a workshop was an attempt to get people from different sectors to work together toward common goals. Tackling complex planning and design problems requires thinkers from dif ferent disciplines. The way to get them to collaborate is to base the design exercise on shared values and principles.” (see f g. 3)

A Principle-based Practice

Design Workshop’s practice is defined by four principles - comprehensiveness;inclusiveness; transparency; and knowledge - that are necessary for collaboration and rigorous design solutions. The first principle, comprehensiveness, is best expressed by the overlapping Legacy Design rings. (see f g. 4)

This principle of developing design solutions is achieved through four essential aspects of sustainability – environment, community, economics and art. These focus areas form the interlocking rings of the firm’s DW Legacy Design?method. Every project represents an opportunity to balance goals in all four areas to achieve projects that are environmentally sensitive, community supported, economically sustainable and artfully executed. The complexity of the projects undertaken by Design Workshop requires a quadruple-bottom line approach to be truly sustainable.vi

The second principle, inclusiveness, defines Design W orkshop’s approach to generating ideas developing designs. The business of place-making involves soliciting a broad spectrum of input from the design team, consultant experts, clients and communities.

The third principle, transparency in decision-making, is exhibited by the studio environment and the openness with which groups interact to advance the work.Exposing the goals of a project and the basis of decisions is edifying to all participants and aligns the team.

The fourth principle is knowledge. Design Workshop places great importance on project-based research that leads to knowledge development and design innovation.Evaluating the performance of projects enables a team to test design strategies,expand expertise and determine whether further innovation is possible.

A Formalized Design Approach

Design Workshop has been guided by the process-oriented ideals related to comprehensiveness, inclusiveness, transparent decision-making and knowledge since its founding. However the leadership of the firm decided to formalize this principle-based design approach at a shareholders retreat in the late 1990s. To operate in a truly collaborative manner, to be participants in a workshop, design teams need to follow a shared methodology. DW Legacy Design?outlines a comprehensive, transparent, rigorous and iterative process to the work. A method diagram was developed to serve as a design roadmap for the staff. (see f g. 5)

The diagram depicts how every project is launched with a strategic kick-of f meeting to lay the foundation for how the team will perform the work and engage the client and stakeholders. During this session, the team embarks on an exercise to discover the opportunities and challenges faced by the project and to set comprehensive inquiries that inform project-based research and the establishment of performance goals. Following academic practices, teams develop a project challenge statement(called the Project Dilemma)and a hypothesis statement (called the Project Thesis)for each new project. Developed collectively by the team, the Project Dilemma aligns the group around impediments to a successful design solution. The Project Thesis posits a vision for the f nal design and serves as a constant reminder of the outcome the team is aiming for.

A spirited session at the beginning of each project defines goals that balance economic concerns, community values, environmental issues and the art of design into a cohesive vision for the project. The goals beget research assignments, and team members are deployed to delve into the topics that are relevant to the project.Further inquiry enables the team to anticipate measureable performance bene f ts the implemented project will deliver. Outlining this initial process of design discovery,collaboration and accountability provides a pathway for the team and is essential to the success of the project.

圖7 (fig.7)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopEvery project is launched with a strategic kick-of f meeting during which the design team collectively identif es topics that are relevant to the project and identi f es environment-, economic-, community- and art-related goals for the design to achieve. 每一個項目都推出一個戰(zhàn)略啟動會議，期間，設計小組集體確定與項目相關的主題，并確定環(huán)境、經(jīng)濟、社區(qū)和藝術相關的設計目標，并實現(xiàn)這些目標。

Rapid Cycling

A central element of DW Legacy Design?is the concept of Rapid Cycling,represented by the looping line on the left side of the method diagram. Rapid cycling is the process of iteration that is central to the f rm’s design practice. Designs are not linear exercises; they evolve. Design W orkshop’s projects are complex and site-specif c. Designs are developed in controlled cycles which combine periods of exploration with cathartic moments when the work must be reined in, consolidated,and presented to the client for feedback. DW’s Chairman of the Board, Kurt Culbertson, adds “Rapid cycling can also be thought of as a process of moving back and forth between two modes of thought – creative and critical. The loops in the diagram depict the process that we go through as designers – we try something, we learn, try something else, and learn something new.” This mode of experimenting in professional practice is termed “Reflection-in-Action” by M.I.T. social scientist Donald A. Sch?n, who identifies in the design process three distinct approaches to rigorous iteration: exploration; move testing; and hypothesis testing.viiAt Design Workshop, the number of cycles the project undergoes is dependent on its scope,schedule and fee – and the team’s assessment of the design’s quality and level of completion. Tackling the design in this way, and going so far as to represent it on a diagram, instills in staf f the importance of iteration. Design teams are expected to work intently for periods but also to pause periodically to accept outside points of view. How the design evolves and advances is a crucial piece of the collaborative culture of the f rm.

One way that teams can solicit objective feedback to inform a design is through design reviews, a mainstay of the studio and ultimately the test of a healthy workshop environment. Design reviews come in many dif ferent forms. Some occur in regular project meetings where the conversation is limited to the team members wanting to update each other on the evolution of a design. Others take place at individual desks when perhaps a principal who has been traveling wants to check on a project’s progress. But the center of the workshop is an off ce- or f rm-wide design review that is convened to solicit a broad spectrum of objective critique. In these instances, the full off ce gathers over lunch to hear a short presentation by the team.Pizza is provided in exchange for input. Design reviews are held for many purposes:to seek feedback on designs, to share client reactions to a recent presentation and get direction on next steps, to prepare for an interview for a new project, and/or to share a draft of an awards submittal. Such design reviews are part of a deliberate process of critical thinking that is intended to set the stage for further creative inquiry. (see f g. 6)

Knowledge Generation

Staff members at Design W orkshop often talk about what it means to be engaged in a critical practice. By this, they mean being aware of global issues that af fect the built environment, if not the earth and entire human race. The slide show presented at quarterly orientations to welcome new employees to the firm includes a 2007 cover of Newsweek which features a globe on to which is mapped a grid of images depicting politics, paleontology, finance, art, popular culture, science and others.The headline states, “The 181 Things You Need to Know Now.” The purpose of sharing this image with new staf f members is to instill in them the importance of looking beyond the scope and physical boundary of a particular project and to open their eyes to a broad set of in f uences that affect the built environment in general and the project site in particular. The emphasis on expansive lines of inquiry and synthesis of multivalent information is at the core of a comprehensive DW Legacy Design?approach.viii

Design Workshop project teams often seek to learn about topics and incorporate them into designs that a generation ago might have seemed beyond the scope or capacity of a typical landscape architecture practice. There is a complexity to the f rm’s projects that forces its teams to acquire a broad set of information and tools to design and evaluate success. In addition to focusing on the physical design of space and form giving, a typical team might be calculating the ratio of jobs to housing of a master-planned community in an attempt to reduce the number or length of car trips generated by the development. They might be looking into issues of social justice,or making sure that a project’s community engagement strategy acknowledges subsets of the af fected population with tailored surveys. Or they might be studying the retail vacancy or vehicle accident rates in a district to understand and measure impacts before and after a streetscape re-design has been implemented. Being a critical practice is about operating intelligently and with a high level of awareness of the broad issues that inf uence the built environment.

Embracing the complexity of its typical projects, Design W orkshop has embarked on an effort not only to gather information to aid design decisions and inform the best practices of the f rm but also to conduct formal research that generates new knowledge for the profession.ixAs part of this undertaking, project teams increasingly use evidence-based design to measure the performance of the projects during design and after implementation. Shortly after a contract is signed for a new project,the assigned team gathers to identify all the relevant issues and opportunities that will affect the design and its implemented outcome. Menu sheets of research and metrics topics are reviewed and prioritized. The key question that hovers over the group in this initial conversation is, “What story do we and our clients want to tell about this project?” Asking the question at the beginning of the design effort and imagining the outcome helps to shape the agenda of the project. This conversation generates a comprehensive outline and the issues and opportunities become environment-, community-, economic- or art-related research topics and goals that are assigned to different members of the team. (see f g. 7)

Throughout the design process, the project team evaluates the design against set goals. The measurable goals set at the beginning are a tool for evaluating design alternatives over the course of the project. At this stage, a design is not yet realized so it can only exhibit evidence of success. Proof of success is not possible until after implementation when performance assessments can be conducted. Few design f rms have the ability to take on this ef fort themselves which is why Design W orkshop has enthusiastically participated in the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF)Landscape Performance Series Case Study Initiative (CSI). This program pairs practitioners with academic teams who produce rigorous studies that measure the sustainable landscape performance benef ts delivered by the built project. Partnering with academic teams, as Design Workshop has done with Utah State University for the last three years, ensures that projects are studied objectively and claims are validated with scientif c methods.The studies are published on the LAF website as a resource for the profession to advance its sustainable practices. Additionally, the academic teams publish the research in peer-reviewed publications and present them at conferences, such as the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).

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Essential to the expectation that knowledge must be generated in the context of projects and exchanged among project teams is the Design W orkshop portal,an internal website for sharing knowledge and information across the firm. The portal is the place where a range of items is posted for all to see, from employee marriage announcements and of fice social gatherings, from best practices for conducting public meetings to new methods for reducing impervious surfaces. Much of the information is contained in internal topic-based web pages, one of which exists for every DW Legacy Design?metric topic. From Urban Heat Island Ef fect to phytotechnologies to bioswales, these on-line web pages collect information from within and beyond the f rm, including examples of benchmark goals, design strategies, on-line calculators, links to organizations with expertise on the topic,articles, white papers, and exemplary projects. The portal also provides a home for f rm-wide communities of practice which gather staf f who share a common design interest or who are charged with advancing the firm’s capabilities in a particular area, such as digital representation or green roof design. To work at Design Workshop is to be a member of a networked community that values knowledge, and everyone is expected to contribute to the expansion of this knowledge.

On-going Learning

Design Workshop places tremendous emphasis on continuous learning - both for the professional development of staf f and for the infusion of new ideas and expertise into projects. Expecting staff to augment their expertise and to share it with colleagues to advance the practice is part of the f rm’s academic-based composition. This focus on learning happens through formal f rm-wide programs and also in the context of projects.

Design Workshop’s Five-Year Plan for staff outlines the expectations of staf f during their f rst f ve-years at the f rm to expand their knowledge and credentials to build successful and satisfying careers. The Plan def nes goals and timelines for building essential skills, demonstrating thought leadership, pursuing graduate studies and accomplishing professional licensure and certif cation. A graduate degree is required to advance to a leadership position. The f rm strongly believes that the pursuit of a graduate degree is a transforming experience that results in increased con f dence,intellectual and personal maturity, and professional capacity. Staff are encouraged to present at conferences and to publish articles. The goal of the Five Year Plan is to outline a process that develops young talent as quickly as possible in an organized rather than random pursuit. Design W orkshop’s emphasis on the development and sharing of knowledge, and on solidi f cation of knowledge through certi f cations and degrees, is an attempt to hasten an employee’s passage from novice to master.Semiannual performance reviews are milestones that enable each employee to measure progress against professional development goals.

A series of lunchtime presentations by internal staf f and guest experts is planned for each year. Held several times a month, the “Lunch and Learn” series of fer short presentations about topics that are relevant to design, speci f c types of projects, or general skill-building. Staff members from all of f ces connect to a web conference to hear the presentations and to participate in the discussions at the conclusion of each lecture. Recent topics have included stormwater management, urban street trees, phytoremediation, public art, digital modeling, meeting facilitation, project management and GIS.

Since 2006, Design Workshop has convened over ten f rm-wide symposia on topics or project types that are areas of focus for many at the f rm, including urban corridor design, planting design, new community development, park design and community comprehensive plans. When several Design W orkshop offices are working on the same types of projects, a session is convened so that teams can share best practices. An outside guest is invited to serve as the keynote speaker and to frame the discussion. Several project teams grappling with similar issues are invited to participate in short presentations to share best practices and to receive feedback.While participating in symposia removes staf f from pressing deadlines and billable capacity for a portion of a day, f rm leaders believe these sessions expand awareness of best practices in the industry, improve project designs, and strengthen the bonds across off ces. They reinforce the notion of “workshop.”

The firm’s conviction that connecting staf f to knowledge and teaching them how to conduct project-based research will advance the practice has led to travel and exploration beyond the con f nes of DW’s six off ces. From 2005 to 2007, the entire f rm traveled to annual retreats in dif ferent cities in the United States. The focus of the 2005 gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada, was Design Methods. In 2006, staff visited Portland, Oregon, where the focus was on Environment and Art, which form two of the DW Legacy Design?categories. Community and Economics were the focus of the 2007 meeting in Chicago, Illinois. These conference-like gatherings of fered lectures, break-out sessions, and tours of exemplary urban projects and were led by internal experts and guest presenters with particular insights about comprehensive sustainable practices achieved in the built environments of the cities visited. (see f g. 8)

“Working at Design W orkshop is like being back in school,” says Josh Brooks,who recently joined the firm after graduating with an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture in Baton Rouge. “I really appreciate all the learning events that are of fered throughout the year. The frequent design reviews infuse the studio with a sense of inquiry and critique that sets the tone for design exploration.”

Connecting to Academia

As a firm borne of academia, Design W orkshop has maintained close ties to design programs in numerous American universities and with individual professors throughout the country. Utah State University’s landscape architecture program has been designated as the recipient of the f rm’s off ce archives. For several years, the f rm has hosted a Faculty-in-Residence program in which a professor is invited to spend time at one or all of the f rm’s off ces while on a sabbatical or summer break.The mutual benef ts of these arrangements are tremendous. For the academic, the opportunity brings exposure to professional practice and time to apply research to projects that will be implemented. Interacting with a faculty member af fords staff the chance to learn directly from an expert with deep knowledge in a particular subject.Academic visitors tend to feel at home in the studio due to Design W orkshop’s process-oriented design practice and shared methodologies for pursuing design solutions. Bruce Ferguson, the Franklin Professor of Landscape Architecture at University of Georgia School of Environmental Design and an expert on stormwater design and technologies in the United States, experienced two summers at Design Workshop and Les Smith, professor of landscape architecture at Ball State University, spent several months at Design W orkshop during a sabbatical to reinforce the intersection of art making and design. (see f g. 9)

Design Workshop sponsors two programs that bridge the gap between academia and professional practice. The f rst is Design W eek, during which a principal and several staff members partner with the faculty of an undergraduate landscape architecture or planning program at a rotating list of universities to host a weeklong charrette focused on a site-specif c design problem. After teaching the students about comprehensive design processes, interdisciplinary teams are formed to focus on a complex design problem. Volunteering time to interact with students and teach them about rigorous professional practice is invigorating for the firm’s staff and forges new relationships with faculty members and academic institutions. Academics and students are exposed to the workshop approach promulgated by the f rm and the fruitful outcomes that stem from cross-disciplinary endeavors. To date, Design Weeks have occurred at prestigious design schools including Clemson University,University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, Texas A&M University and Penn State University. (see f g. 10)

In addition, Design W orkshop sponsors an annual summer internship program.The f rm solicits applications for approximately one dozen internship spots spread across the f rm’s six off ces. Each year, one off ce is designated as the host of an intense multi-day design workshop attended by all of the interns for the f rst week of the summer. The students are immersed in the collaborative culture of the f rm and learn the DW Legacy Design?process. After this stint, each is assigned to a Design Workshop office and spends the remainder of the summer working on the firm’s projects for clients. (see f g. 11)

An Intentional Culture of Collaboration

Design Workshop’s name, physical spaces, comprehensive design philosophy,collaborative design principles and shared methodology continually reinforce the concept of “workshop.” Upholding the culture of collaboration is the responsibility of everyone at the f rm.

Every staff member is a proprietor of the workshop. For the most part, design teams self-organize and initiate conversations to advance concepts in a discovery-oriented environment. However the culture of collaboration must be fostered. To promote the idea of workshop and to inculcate this way of practicing, a team of Legacy Design representatives from each of f ce meets monthly to share new research or ways of evaluating design and built outcomes through performance metrics. They also discuss the condition of the workshop culture in each off ce and take steps to nurture it as needed. If the f ow of design reviews and team work has ebbed in an off ce, these caretakers will encourage the group to change behavior and seek the input of those outside the project team in the common area of the studio. In other cases an inter-off ce design review may be scheduled to stimulate communication and sharing ideas across the f rm.

Jane Jacobs wrote that “Without a strong and inclusive central heart, a city tends to become a collection of interests isolated from one another. It falters at producing something greater, socially, culturally and economically, than the sum of its separated parts.”xVital urban spaces are created when diverse systems, uses and people overlap and engage. Applying this thinking to a design studio, the concentrations of designers and circulation of diverse viewpoints are crucial to the life of the studio as a place where knowledge is generated and solutions to complex design problems are produced. The highest quality of design can be achieved by the contributions of a team in a workshop rather than by individuals acting alone. At Design Workshop, this condition is cultivated daily and intentionally to uphold the culture that was central to

the f rm’s founding and to the way it continues to operate today.

Notes:

i Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York, NY: Random House, 1993, 227; 65.

ii Steven Johnson, Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. New York, NY:Scribner, 2001, 74; 31-33; 94; 96.

iii Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. New York, NY: First Collins Business Essentials, 2006.

iv Ricardo Semler, Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace. New York, NY:Business Plus, 1993.

v Jack Stack with Bo Burlingham, The Great Game of Business: Unlocking the Power and Prof i tability of Open-Book Management. New York, NY: Currency/Doubleday, 1994.

vi This expands on the concept of triple-bottom line accounting that integrates ecological, social and economic criteria into measures of organizational success. Design Workshop adds a fourth key area – Art – into the formula.

vii Donald A. Sch?n, The Ref l ective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York, New York: Basic Books, 1983, 146-147.

viii “181 Things You Need to Know Now,” Newsweek (July 2, 2007): Cover Image. This double issue of Newsweek collected essays on global topics about which readers need to be knowledgeable to navigate the increasing complex world and to achieve, what editor Jon Meacham termed, “Global Literacy.”

ix See M. Elen Deming and Simon Swaffield, Landscape Architecture Research: Inquiry, Strategy, Design.Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011, 239-242. Deming and Swaff i eld discuss the diversity of knowledge development and research in the context of landscape architecture practice and introduce three realms of knowledge development – 1) Integrating research strategies into practice; 2) Integrating research into practice –polemical transformation; and 3) Integrating Knowledge into Practice – Grassroots Movements.

x Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York, NY: Random House, 1993, 215.

About the author:

Allyson Mendenhall is the Director of the DW Legacy Design?, Design W orkshop’s comprehensive and sustainable design practice. She develops tools and models for research in Design W orkshop’s practice of landscape architecture, urban design and land planning, and teaches the methodology which emphasizes performance measurement of the f rm’s built work. Allyson is distinguished for her project leadership of largescale, complex, multidisciplinary design and planning ef forts. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), Allyson serves on the GSD Alumni Council and also on the Board of Directors of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.