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Diploma of Landscape Design ~ online

When you graduate from this 'project driven' Diploma of Landscape Design, you will be capable of successfully running your own landscape consultancy or adding that service to an existing construction business. Our aim is to provide high class landscape training with a modern twist. While teaching landscape design, we will also show how to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) software so you can efficiently produce designs for potential clients. We've developed the software and when you enrol, we will supply you with a copy of GardenCAD which is CAD software specially designed for landscapers.

If you can allocate a day a week for study, research and project work, the Diploma should take about a year of study. The Diploma is awarded by our company, Design Cad Pty Ltd. and although our tutors teach at University and TAFE level, this course has no formal accreditation. There are no exams - assessment is by project submission.

You gain your diploma by submitting a series of project assignments, each builds in complexity. Please check out the various projects by selecting items from the "Stages" menus at left. Examples of student work are also there for you to examine. We hope to see yours there soon!
 

Feedback

We will provide feedback on these projects as you go, and the final project will be independently assessed. Please note that the time spent creating these projects is not wasted, as each is designed to demonstrate to a prospective employer or client, the range of your talents and services. We strongly suggest that you add each piece of work to your 'brag book' - your marketing portfolio.
 

Flexible, online learning

All tution is delivered online. You can work at times which suit you, but with the support of online tutors.
 

The results and the value of CAD

Although we will expect you to develop hand drafting skills in this diploma (and we start with that), you will be encouraged to move to Computer Aided Drafting as soon as practicable. We believe that you cannot run a profitable business until you do so. CAD offers so much more than simply speed of drafting, it enables the calculation of quantities and provides a contractor with a highly accurate and dimensioned plan from which to work. The figure below shows a garden built to the CAD design shown below it.

Garden

Plan

Project based learning - (but with prior tutition)

Prior to tackling each project, you will take one or more online courses which will arm you with the skills needed to complete the project. These courses are comprehensive and contain comprehensive information, often in the form of on-screen movies.

Lower your carbon footprint as you learn

We aim to show that your design consultancy can become 'digital'. We will encourage you to work this way with us so when you work with clients, your carbon footprint is reduced.
 
"Ever since the industrial evolution, global energy consumption has exploded, and it's not letting up. Using all this energy results in carbon emissions, and this is affecting the Earth's climate. If we want to slow climate change, we need to think in new ways .."

Steen Riisgaard, Novozymes 2008.

Our learning system

We use a unique and flexible learning system which provides affordable training at times convenient to you. If you enrol for the Diploma of  Landscape Design, you will have access to many online courses. Each course contains comprehensive instructional materials, many on-screen videos showing how things are done, links to other online courses, exercises, assignments, multiple choice tests, project work, check lists, workbooks etc. You also have access to an online course tutor who is available to answer questions.
 

Preliminary steps - before you enrol

All students are required to take a free 'Basic Computer Skills' Course. To find out more about enrolling and preliminary work, click on the 'Before Enrolling' link at left.  Taking this Basic Computer Skills course ensures that you are comfortable with our flexible learning program and can send us an example of your work for comment. One of the modules in that course reuires that you send us a sample of some hand drawn work. When you have taken the basic computer skills course, the next step is to complete Stage 1 of the diploma which consists of three projects (see below). To that point, there is no charge, although if you want feedback we would expect that you formally enrol in the diploma.
 

Diploma of landscape design

Your learning will be staged and is shown in summary form below. Note that the diploma is not awarded until all stages have been completed and your final project work assessed.

Complete the projects below in the order set out below.

 
Stage 1: Hand drawn projects (part a)
Complete the following projects - see menus at left for detail.
  1. Draw plant symbols. 
  2. Design a logo.
  3. Create a series of north point symbols.
Stage 2: Hand drawn projects (part b)
Complete the following projects:
  1. Design for part of a courtyard
  2. Developing a design for an outdoor classroom (include elevation and section view).
Stage 3: Using CAD to recreate the designs above viz:
Complete the following projects:
  1. Use CAD to copy some hand plant symbols (see 1. above).
  2. Use CAD to copy your hand drawn logo (see 2. above)
  3. Use CAD to copy your design for part of a courtyard (see 3. above)
  4. Use CAD to copy a design for an outdoor classroom (see 4. above)
  5. Design for 6 meter square courtyard.
  6. Design for rear of two story house.
Stage 4: Intermediate level design:
Complete the following projects:
  1. Front garden.
  2. Rear garden.
  3. Terrace house.
  4. Sustainable garden.
  5. Community garden.
  6. Using Google Earth on large scale projects.
  7. Rear garden courtyard home - full presentation.

Stage 5: Advanced design - 3-D models:

Complete the following projects

  1. Courtyard with shade sails.
  2. Sculpture for art installation.
  3. 3-D model of garden at rear of two story house.
  4. 3-D model of terrace house design. 
     
Stage 6: Major project:
  1. Full scale design of a major design job, complete with full documentation and costings.

Cost

Provided you do not want any feedback, there is no cost for Stage 1, but we will be charging a fee for the diploma.
 

Try our learning system and trial a course before you enrol

It is a pre-requisite that all new students complete the Basic Computer Skills course before an enrolment can be accepted.

Commercial focus

Everything we do here in this Design Cad Diploma of Landscape Design has a commercial focus. All course materials are designed to ensure that when you graduate, you are a competent landscape, GIS or environmental design drafter. In addition, we intend that you will have a well developed series of designs which you can use to market your services to clients. Our focus is on teaching you to use modern techniques so you can operate efficienly and run a profitable landscape design businesses. 
 

About us:

This web site is under development. It is an initiative of Design Cad Pty Ltd, Adelaide, South Australia. Our aim is to provide high class training in landscape design and at the same time, teach the use of CAD and other modern computer software applications. If you master these tools, you will be able to give free reign to your design skills and work efficiently (and profitably) as a landscape design consultant.
 

Note added Jan 2010

We are not yet ready to take enrolments but would like to hear your thoughts about the proposed diploma, in particular, an opinion about a reasonable fee structure. Please email any comments you may have about the concepts behind this site to: info@designcad.com.au