The Botanic Garden portion of this course relates form and function in architecture and biology by using plants as inspiration for assignments.

The components of the Botanic Garden project include photography or sketching to visually observe a plant; abstraction in two and three dimensions; constructing a spatial composition within limits; examination of skin/surface and structure by drawing, computer modeling, or physical modeling; and production of abstract diagrams to analyze formal systems and show organizational principles, enclosure, structure, and solids/voids.

These steps lead to the design of a Flower Pavilion (hypothetically sited on the Smith College campus) that requires development of spatial language derived from the Flower Analysis.

Class exercises are supplemented by a lecture from Botanic Garden director Michael Marcotrigiano on the relationship of form and function in plants.

Click HERE to see the exhibit for the 2009 class