Academy of Art University, the nation’s largest private, accredited art and design university, launches the School of Landscape Architecture, offering accredited Associate’s (AA) and Bachelor’s (BFA) degree programs as well as continuing art education courses beginning Summer 2011 semester.
In keeping with the school’s rich tradition of preparing the artists and designers of tomorrow with instruction from leading professionals in their field, Heather Clendenin will take the helm as Director of Landscape Architecture.
Clendenin’s interest in landscape architecture began with one very memorable hike. Then a botany and rhetoric major, she returned with a group to a trail she had been on the year before. Her memory of the trail, which led out into a valley of virgin timber, was intense and inspiring.
“We got out to the overlook, and it had been clear cut,” said Clendenin. “It was then that I thought it was time to get out from behind the microscope.”
As the program Director for the Landscape Architecture Certificate Program at UC Berkeley Extension, Clendenin initiated and directed the Sustainable Environmental Design and Stewardship Professional Sequence program.
In line with those principles, Academy of Art University’s School of Landscape Architecture will incorporate sustainable practices into the framework of all courses. Students will be instructed to analyze landscapes and make responsible decisions based on that analysis.
Ultimately, graduates of the program will be prepared to create inspiring, memorable and functional outdoor environments. “This program provides future generations of designers the opportunity to use San Francisco as their studio,” said Clendenin. “Then they can take that knowledge and design process anywhere in the world.”
See courses available for Landscape Architecture beginning Summer 2011 semester.
