走向綜合

作者：納塔利·格力羅

“DesignWorkshop(DW)LegacyDesign?對一種設計過程和道德標準進行了清楚的描述，既考慮周到，也合乎情理。在新興的景觀績效設計時代，DW以績效為基礎的實踐強調了景觀建筑行業的價值。近年來，通過與學術機構和‘景觀建筑基金會’的合作，DW對景觀建筑教育和研究的影響與日俱增?！?/p>

–猶他州立大學景觀建筑與環境規劃部副教授楊波

“一套技能和價值體系往往會因困境受制于另一套系統。DWLegacyDesign?在不同的技能層面和價值系統上追尋廣泛的可量化目標，并樂于接受合理設計途徑的挑戰。”

這些話語出自DesignWorkshop的首席設計官托德·約翰遜，指的是DesignWorkshop人為自己設定的任務之艱巨——在設計思路上開拓創新、與時俱進、面面俱到，在解決方案上則遵循多年實踐經驗所總結出來的設計原則。

實現這種自我強加的強制性任務的一個關鍵是，創造基于證據的設計——這樣的設計圍繞著可量化的目標，并建立在所獲得數據的基礎之上，而這樣的設計又可以為公司不斷擴展的知識庫添磚加瓦。

遵循著“所測即所得”的格言，DesignWorkshop選擇的研究方法之核心在于度量指標，這一核心使公司能夠對照項目的預期目標來衡量其工作的效率、績效、進度或質量。雖然眾所周知的是，沒有一個目標衡量清單可完全包含景觀建筑的廣度或范圍，甚至僅僅囊括一個特定項目的復雜性和差異性都很困難，但是，DesignWorkshop仍然堅持在每一個項目中實行目標可量化的設計操作，進而形成設計核對清單，同時也提供設計探索的機會，如此可幫助各個項目團隊確定項目目標并預估目標實現后將帶來的效益。然而這樣的績效衡量策略只是幫助確定了項目的基本切入點，對于不同項目的最終設計成果而言，在進一步深化設計的過程中都將根據其獨特的環境和特定的目標量身定制。對于某個給定的項目，設計證據和DWLegacyDesign?的真正力量取決于度量指標的透明度和相關性。這些度量指標必須與設計預想結果相關聯，且同時也要與其它選定的度量指標相協調。

公司強調使用這種研究型方法論，早在此方法建立之初的2002年的公司備忘錄里，庫爾特·卡伯特森董事長就對其進行了最精辟的解釋“這些度量指標可成為評估我們是否取得進步的常用詞匯?！惫菊J為，循證方法——無論是否像Design

圖1 (fig.1)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopOne of Design Workshop’s signature projects, Daybreak, a 4,126-acre (1,670-hectare)new community just 25 miles (40 kilometers)from Utah’s capital, Salt Lake City, illustrates the value and power of incorporating a research-based methodology into design.DW的一個標志性項目，Daybreak，4126英畝（1670公頃）的新社區，離猶他州的首府鹽湖城僅25英里（40公里），說明了將研究為基礎的方法轉化為設計的價值和力量。

Workshop一樣以度量指標為中心——都是行業監控規劃和建設的成功與不足的關鍵，也是行業從中學習的關鍵。（請參看圖1）

四重盈余法

DWLegacyDesign?是DesignWorkshop綜合型的循證研究和實踐的方法論，主要基于四大范疇——景觀建筑的傳統因素（藝術與環境）與被視為具有同等價值的元素——社區與經濟。在這四個范疇所設定的基礎上，公司的設計理念為：

環境：人類的生存依賴于對自然體系價值的認知以及對自然體系保護活動的自發組織。設計應該與土地情況相契合，才能造福子孫后代并帶來長期的價值。

經濟：開發項目所需的資金流以及在項目使用年限內所能產生的收益界定了經濟可行性。因此，設計理應提供一套可促進并保護區域的完整性的長期性經濟機制。

社區：人與人之間的實體聯系構成了家庭、群體、城鎮、城市和國家的文化，是這其中每一個要素繁榮昌盛的基礎。設計應該將這些社區組織起來以培養他們之間的各種聯系并提升彼此間相互包容的能力。

藝術：美學有助于界定真實、獨特的場所，賦予生命的意義，并對人文精神的回歸產生積極影響。設計應該通過與藝術結合來激發靈感并鼓舞人心，進而提升經濟價值，確?？尚行圆⑶椅Y金，從而有助于確保項目恒久長存。

DesignWorkshop始終相信，最引人入勝的場所是那些把環境、經濟、社區與藝術融合在一起的地方（公司稱之為四重盈余）。遠在20世紀90年代末，公司正式定義了DWLegacyDesign?方法之前，團隊成員早已將這些原則融合到項目工作中。公司對每一個范疇的深入剖析會逐漸顯露在接下來的篇幅里，公司的標識性項目之一，位于猶他州SouthJordan的一個4126英畝（1670公頃）的大型新社區Daybreak，將會被作為案例進行講述。

在這里強調Daybreak這個項目，事實上是要強調研究型方法論納入設計工作的價值和力量。這里將敘述我們在這個項目中進行的各種努力，譬如保護和修復環境采用的特殊方法以及用于振興社區經濟的設計和美學。這些范例可以充分說明景觀建筑及其相關學科在實踐中的卓越與嚴謹所創造的成果能夠符合當今世界的需求和目標，同時也可為未來世界保留發展機會。DesignWorkshop指出，如果度量指標的完成僅僅是單一的停留在某一個范疇中，那這樣的測量方法對我們構建成功社區，提高我們的文化生活水平，維持長期的財政穩定性以及實現世界的可持續發展將毫無貢獻。DesignWorkshop認為，其方法論的力量在于將這四大范疇整體性的融合到了一起。（請參看圖2、圖3）

環境

對于塑造建成環境的設計行業人士而言，環境被視為設計與規劃過程的一部分，是第二自然。從帕特里克·戈德斯和伊恩·麥克哈格到安妮·惠斯頓·史必恩和查爾斯·瓦爾德海姆，那些在景觀建筑領域的學術上和專業實踐上的思想領袖們早已強調過設計需要從周邊的自然環境中獲得啟示繼而創造或再創造功能性自然體系。

不過，設計師并不是唯一意識到環境和人類之間的影響及依賴關系的人群。全球變暖和大氣層的變化促使許多人——政治領袖、規劃師、建筑師、經濟學家、環境學家和普通大眾——都意識到環境并非只是一些可持續發展與節能減排的措施?？傮w上來說，我們普遍相信，我們不能在使用地球資源的同時不施加足夠的積極影響，否則，我們的子孫后代將無法享受與我們相同的生活質量。這里提到的地球資源，不僅包括不可再生資源（如：礦物燃料）,也包括可再生資源（如：空氣和水）。在當今世界，環境是我們共同的未來賴以生存的最主要關注對象。

DesignWorkshop對環境的影響以及對設計過程中目標的考慮，主要是基于以下想法：真正可衡量和有意義的設計方案在某種程度上必須主要建立在可重現的科學研究和數據上，當然也不排除某些部分會建立在實踐經驗的基礎上。這意味著，建立一套度量指標去監控和模擬能源利用、建筑和景觀績效以及客戶對某種形式的使用時長等等。這意味著不斷比較和提煉這些因素，以便減輕景觀、建筑、社區、城市甚至是國家對環境產生的影響并提升績效。

術語“環境度量指標”意味著，測量和比較諸如空氣質量、雨水質量及回收利用、能源、野生動物棲息地、噪音污染消減、開放空間的保護或創建以及其它許多定量因素對于一個項目的最終成功是必不可少的。不過，簡而言之就是設定一條基線用來確立現狀環境中哪些因素需要進行測量，而后獲得的實質性數據則有助于為進一步的改進提升明確目標績效。當這些度量指標典型性地呈現出定量而非定性的特征時，他們就為景觀建筑和社區設計的可量化結果指明了內在需求，而這些可測量的結果表明我們對我們的行動與周圍自然環境之間的因果關系的關注。

Daybreak社區距離猶他州首府鹽湖城僅25英里（40千米），是經過細心規劃的，不僅顧及到建設行為與自然環境之間的因果效應，同時也致力于為當代人和后代人創造一個擁有豐富水源和潔凈空氣的美麗的社區。該社區的開發商KennecottLand要求DesignWorkshop為其新社區提供公園和開放空間的系統框架。由于該社區所在的環境非常脆弱而且高度沙漠化，傳統的水資源集約化開發和精心設計的地形在這里不僅不可持續而且難以讓人滿意。為了符合當地的雨水管理條例并適應周邊環境基底，設計團隊為Daybreak設計了的公園和開放空間不僅在視覺上令人賞心悅目，而且在環境上具有可持續性。

圖2 、圖3(fig.2andfig.3)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopOnce the largest open-pit copper mine in the world, Daybreak is now the largest master-planned community in Utah and boasts an extensive trail system, recreational water features, active sports f elds, community vegetable gardens, performance space, and demonstration gardens of native plants.曾經是世界上最大的露天銅礦，Daybreak如今是猶他州最大的總體規劃社區并擁有一個廣泛的步道系統、娛樂性水景、活躍的運動場地、社區菜園、表演空間以及本地植物示范園。

水|在任何涉及到環境因素的設計中，水的利用必然是最重要的。水在我們的日常生活中是無處不在的。它是我們人類最為重要的需求：我們需要水來飲用、烹飪和清潔；我們也需要水來維持環境衛生和預防火災。沒有水我們無法生存。理所當然的，幾乎每一個設計項目都需要面對雨洪管理、區域水資源利用、節約用水、水資源保護和廢水處理技術等各類與水相關的問題。

如果用Daybreak社區的案例來詳細闡述的話，該社區的公共景觀設計展示了一套合理利用水資源創造優美、豐富的環境的有效且高效的方式，從而轉變了利用大量水資源綠化沙漠的普遍范式。（請參看圖4）

由于猶他州的SouthJordan年均降水量僅為18.18英寸（46.2厘米），因此，水在Daybreak是非常珍貴的。針對大暴雨情況，設計師通過設計一系列相互連接的生態排水溝、洼地和人工濕地如奧克爾湖（65英畝/26.3公頃，是社區的核心組織特征）形成的雨洪管理系統來收集、清潔和過濾所有落到現場土地上的雨水。該體系減少了與地表徑流相關的污染，預防了下游洪災的發生，且有助于補充當地的蓄水層。該設計實現了場地與市政雨洪管網系統連接設備的零需求。考慮到猶他州的大部分住宅社區都需要收集和過濾10年/24小時暴風雨產生的雨水，相較而言，Daybreak社區的系統可以說是非凡的。因為這意味著，如果遇到百年一遇的暴風雨，Daybreak社區所收集和過濾的徑流量比猶他州其它大部分的社區會多出44%。連接到區域運河網的次級水系統可為整個開放空間和奧克爾湖提供滿足灌溉需求的原水而無需利用市政的飲用水。（請參看圖5）

值得注意的是，Daybreak的雨水基礎設施帶來的不僅僅是環境效益。據工程師估算，在Daybreak項目使用期限內省去的市政影響產生的費用，以及大量減少的水輸送的傳統基礎設施費用，實際設計的雨洪基礎設施節約了超過7千萬美元（4.32億人民幣）。其中包括3千萬美元（1.851億人民幣）的住宅影響費用的節省，業主住宅所有權的增加以及嵌入式基礎設施的減少。此外，此基礎設施由于創建了公園和集會空間而使社區獲益匪淺，同時還由于并創建了優美的開放空間系統網絡，增加了社區的美感。這些統計數據充分體現了DesignWorkshop設計理念一體化所產生的巨大力量。

除了高效的雨洪管理之外，Daybreak也因其節水率高而聞名。每個家庭使用的都是低流量裝置、高科技灌溉系統，并栽種了本地耐旱植物，因此，與老居民區的同類家庭相比，Daybreak的家庭每個月平均節約了5206加侖水。截至2009年8月份，社區2106個家庭共節約了79,759,877加侖（3.019億公升）水，平均每個家庭節約的水量超過41,000加侖（155,202公升）。

鄉土植物和節水植物的栽種|對于給定景觀而言，重新引進鄉土植物或節水的植物有許多的益處。這些植物有助于滿足本地野生動植物的需求（如：棲息地與食物），而不會對當地的植物群落造成長期的損害。它們有助于防止外來入侵植物進入到該區域中。此外，本地鄉土植物通常生長得很好，需要的殺蟲劑較少，且如上所述，需要的水分較少。（請參看圖6）

DesignWorkshop通過選擇鄉土植物（包括北美三齒苦樹（Purshiatridentate）、接骨木（Sambucus）和Rabbitbrush（Ericamerianauseosa）將Daybreak與其自然歷史相接，這里的自然歷史包括了延伸到山脈中的生態廊道和區域性的植被肌理?！笆讋撜咧濉弊鳛樯鐓^內竣工的第一個村莊，其72%的公園和開放空間所用的都是鄉土植物或節水植物（需要灌溉的草皮僅限于必要的活動場地）。

總而言之，把鄉土植物和節水植物納入景觀是有益的，因為保存了大量的水資源（如上所述），從而為魚類、小型哺乳類和那些每年都會經過大鹽湖上候鳥通道的水禽類提供了棲息地。自社區的湖泊及其濕地建成后，猶他州奧杜邦協會就開始了對棲息地的鳥類的觀察活動。迄今為止，湖泊中已記錄并識別的鳥類已有100多種。

和采用鄉土植物和節水植物所獲得的效益一起，DesignWorkshop還從Daybreak吸取了一些重要的經驗，并將這些經驗納入到了未來Daybreak村莊設計中甚至更多的近期項目中（如：LowryDevelopment——1848英畝[747.9公頃]大的科羅拉多州丹佛前美國空軍基地，BlueHole區域公園——126英畝[51公頃]的德克薩斯州溫布萊自然保護區）。DesignWorkshop團隊發現，讓業主和準買家在文化上接受鄉土草本植物存在著很大的挑戰，因為這些草本植物在開始成熟和自播繁衍之前會顯現出雜草叢生的蓬亂感，而達到成熟和自播繁衍的過程通常需要好幾個季節。此外，設計團隊還得知，若利用更傳統的、修剪整齊的景觀作為鄉土植物造景的框架，居民會更樂意接受并了解鄉土植被覆蓋的草地和種植區的意義。簡單的將貼近道路旁邊的一條2英尺的（0.6米）條狀綠地設計為經常修剪的整齊的短草坪，將之后的綠地過度為大面積的鄉土植被種植區，可以將鄉土草地框出來并可強調構建草地的目的性，這樣的方式更容易為越來越多的受眾所理解。此外，設計團隊還得知，相比在居民買房之后再栽種鄉土植物，未來的業主更容易接受那些在出售土地或建筑家園之前就構建好的鄉土植物景觀。（請參看圖7）

碳足跡|最近，人們花費很大的精力來減少項目開發的碳足跡。事實證明，大的碳足跡對環境具有有害的影響——包括諸如氣候變化、資源耗竭以及溫室氣體排放的增加等。減少碳足跡最好的方法包括：減少消耗量、循環利用廢棄物和回收利用舊材料。

DesignWorkshop通過減少機動車輛交通的需求而幫助Daybreak社區減少其碳足跡。通過設計布局的開放空間系統可以讓每家每戶在5分鐘（或0.25英里/0.4千米）的步行范圍內可達。然后這一系統包含的散步徑、小路可連接到社區的各個主要的目的地（如：學校、教堂、村中心和輕軌站）。正因為這些居民區的可步行性，有88%的Daybreak學生都是步行去上學，而在周邊那些相比下不那么容易步行的居民區內，這個數據只有17%。目前整個社區有22英里（35.4千米）長的散步徑，開發商計劃在未來的村莊里創建更多這樣的路徑。到目前為止，這些努力已經阻止了8505.6噸（770萬千克）的碳進入大氣層（這相當于抵消了177戶美國標準家庭所產生的碳排放影響）。（請參看圖8）

DesignWorkshop幫助Daybreak減少其碳足跡的另一個方法是循環和回收利用現有的材料。施工人員和承包商循環回收了四分之三以上的建筑垃圾。有43500噸（3950萬千克）來自于鄰近賓漢銅礦的廢石被用于建設公園和開放空間系統的墻和石籠。石籠墻已成為Daybreak景觀的一個標識性元素。這些石籠墻服務于多種不同的目的，貫穿在整個社區中，不僅將美學的價值牢牢地系在場地上還與賓漢銅礦形成了文化關聯。

經濟

如果資產負債表和基本經濟原理是唯一的度量衡，那么，在市場經濟方面取得成功則通常是顯而易見的。例如，如果某項努力的預期結果是正向的（就是說即使是對于最務實投資者，數字的總和也是有利于投資商的），那么，盈余應等于凈利潤。經濟測量是我們最熟悉的、最容易并得到過優良檢驗的指標體系。在房地產開發項目中，投資回報率（ROI）是一項普遍流行的績效指標，原因在于其用途廣泛性和簡單性。ROI常用于評估某項投資的效益或比較多項不同投資的效益。如果一項投資無法產生正數的ROI，或者，如果還有其它的投資機會可以獲得更高的ROI，那么，直覺上講，這項投資不適宜被采取。

在項目開始之初，確定經濟可行性和經濟影響所需要的精度將決定對預期結果判斷的準確度。這一程序一旦啟動，批判性的問題將會被提出度量，指標——（即清晰、公認的標準以及構成“可靠證據”的指南）也將建立，于是成敗可能都將被記錄、被分享，然后要么成為設計基礎，反過來，要么再也不會被重復。不過，對于許多公司而言，真正的成功與否不再以財政績效為唯一的基線進行判定。目前的判斷指標還包括社會和文化的衍生物、環境的影響以及生活質量指標。在景觀建筑、設計和規劃方面，這種四重盈余法是確定依據和測量點的關鍵。若每個范疇沒有合適的指南，開發商和景觀建筑師會在衡量各種結果并確定判斷成敗依據時承受巨大的壓力。

在Daybreak社區所制定的指南以及測量出的結果充分體現了這種方法的有效性。開發商和區域的經濟回報是豐厚的，與DesignWorkshop的所有項目一樣，經濟可行性與環境敏銳度、社區合作和審美特征相融合，鞏固了這些積極的財政業績。需要重申的是，證據的真正力量取決于度量指標的透明度及其相互融合的能力。

環境保護|越來越多的證據證明，在可持續發展方面所作的努力不僅僅有利于地球，也有利于人類自身和利潤增長。對于某個開發項目，若節省或修復資源的價值超過消耗的資源的價值，就可以說這個該項目取得了財政上的成功。

Daybreak的情況就是這樣。許多確立的可持續發展倡議都在社區取得的巨大的財政收益中做出了貢獻。如前所述，利用地表雨洪管理系統來消除雨水影響產生的費用，并極大減少了地下管道、基礎設施的建設和維護，據估算節約了7000萬美元（4.32億人民幣）。另外，通過循環利用建筑垃圾和重復利用現場舊材料，社區已節約了160萬美元（990萬人民幣）以上的混凝土費用和運輸費用。

此外，由于在Daybreak建立的所有家園都必須通過能源之星?的認證，因此，業主平均每年在公共設施費用方面就已節約了400美元（2466人民幣）。

投資回報率（ROI）|每個項目的目標ROI都會考慮到當地市場的性質、其它投資機會、項目的風險以及投資商的看法。開發商/投資商的目標是賺的比投的多。

Daybreak的公園和開放空間系統已為社區的土地所有者、業主和未來居住者創造了價值，并為開發商提供了巨大的ROI。2009年至今，依靠在設計、咨詢和施工方面共計6730萬美元（4.149億人民幣）的投入，Daybreak已然成為猶他州暢銷的新家園；鹽湖郡五分之一的新家園交易就集中在Daybreak。同樣在2009年，在以總體規劃為基礎進行開發的社區中，Daybreak在全美最暢銷社區榜單上排名第六。開發商提出的讓所有家庭都緊挨著公園或開放空間的承諾已兌現：三分之一的家庭都面向開放空間，因而價格一直居高不下，轉售價值比其它地點高出10%。（請參看圖9）

就業|新社區開發的成功有一部分取決于創造了多少就業機會以及開發為區域帶來了多少收入。

Daybreak全面建成后，計劃會新增2萬個就業機會。區域輕軌系統剛剛延伸到Daybreak已規劃的城鎮中心，第一批商業建筑的開發也即將全部竣工（如：剛竣工的SouthJordan醫療中心配有24小時急診室、初級護理設施和專科診所，力拓集團區域中心[其下屬企業肯尼科特猶他銅礦公司是猶他州最大的私營經濟動因]以及在SoDaRow的許多小型零售企業）。城鎮中心最終會成為各類企業的總部辦公區、區域性全方位服務的醫療中心、區域性零售終端、都市住宅區、托管公寓和普通公寓集中區，甚至還有可能會成為大學校園的所在地。Daybreak的設計和布局已經把這些實體也納入了社區，將為區域創造大量就業機會。

社區

現代的分散型美國城市（住所與工作地點在地理上的距離很遠）使所有國民都依賴于自動化。社區分裂、社會交往被剝奪、身體健康狀況下降、對城市核心部分的公共投資不足，導致傳統的市中心完全廢棄和停業。

為了克服這種關聯性和實體上的分裂障礙，規劃師、設計師和開發商目前正在通過鼓勵體育活動、推行可持續設計以及建設以各種散步徑、開放空間和集會區連接的公共場地和社區，來創造一種可以鼓勵新的生活質量的場所。把這些元素設計到新社區規劃的方案中，可以在提升社區定位以及改善人與人之間的互動方式方面起到重大的作用，繼而促使一些不良因素如公眾健康狀況下降、城市無計劃延伸、居民區以汽車為中心且依賴于汽車以及環境退化等轉向良性方向發展。

Daybreak的城市街道適宜步行并可使居民區與公園用地之間相關聯，而事實證明，城市街道景觀可對居民健康產生積極的影響。日?；顒恿吭黾?，可以減少肥胖的風險，也可以減少由于缺乏鍛煉而導致的疾病的發病率。此外，居民區的綠色空間可以減少犯罪，增加社區的安全感，還有可能創建一個更具社會可持續性、更有凝聚力的社區，從而提升社會資本和公民參與度。從全球來看，城市綠色空間可通過改善空氣質量、保護流域和連接野生動物棲息地來保護自然生態系統的功能。樹木覆蓋率、屋頂花園和鄉土植被的增加，有助于降低城市熱島效應，從而減少能源需求和燃料消耗，否則，燃料的消耗增加會產生更多溫室氣體。增加的植被也可作為碳匯，用于減少二氧化碳的含量。綠色街道使人們不再開汽車出行，而選擇步行和騎自行車作為交通方式。（請參看圖10）

績效衡量與社區的身心改善有著直接的聯系，可與環境標準、經濟標準和審美標準互換。從Daybreak社區衍生出的例子可以證實，績效衡量在于內心是否有愿望為人們提供互動的場所和機會。這是通過觀察社區與多重人際關系網的結合方式、設計提升人際關系網和社區各個場所交叉點的方法以及人與人的互動方式和人與空間環境的互動方式而實現的。

可步行|為了抵制社區對汽車的依賴性，開發商和設計師目前正努力地建造適宜步行并提倡步行方式的場所。適宜步行的居民區提供的效益，遠遠不只是減少車輛排放量所產生的環境效益這么簡單。事實證明，適宜步行的居民區可以促進居民的身體健康，增進鄰里之間的社會互動。（請參看圖11）

先前已指出，Daybreak社區的可步行居民區（公共設施距離每家每戶僅0.25英里/0.4千米的行程）已具有顯著的環境優勢，而其帶來的社區的社會福利也同樣不容忽視。Daybreak的可步行設計鼓勵面對面的互動，讓居民相互聯系；此外，大量的散步徑系統連接了居民區、學校、教堂、社區中心和奧克爾湖周邊區域。據報告，2010年，Daybreak有88%的學生都是步行去上學，而周圍不大適宜步行的居民區這個數據只為17%。雖然目前無數據證明健康情況的改善都歸功于Daybreak的可步行居民區，但是，人們普遍認為，如果整個公共廊道系統（而不僅僅是某些專用的路徑）都是可步行的（對于Daybreak社區，這當然是確切無疑的），則可步行為健康所帶來的益處就可得到最佳的保證。由于這種開發在未來的幾年內才成熟，因此，DesignWorkshop希望擁有更多的實質性記錄資料和可計量證據，以支持Daybreak的可步行設計所帶來的相對應的健康效應。

開放空間|城市開放空間提供的價值是實質性的。從生態學的角度看，開放空間可為環境中那些因城市開發而無法生存下去的自然物種提供家園。從美學的角度看，益處是顯而易見的——開放空間為本應是灰色的城市景觀提供美和舒緩。從娛樂的角度看，開放空間可以為各種宜動和宜靜的活動提供場所，并促進鄰里之間的交流互動。（請參看圖12、圖13）

公共景觀構成了Daybreak的社會和文化體系的支柱。在所有開發的4100英畝（1659公頃）土地上，被規劃為公園和開放空間的面積達到1000英畝（404.7公頃）。該系統的每一個元素，包括22英里（35.4千米）以上的被動步道、娛樂噴泉水景、各活躍的體育活動、表演空間和原生態示范園林，都是為了在社區生活中起到特定的作用而經過精心設計和策劃的，其規模和位置都恰當地服務于Daybreak各個村莊的特定的人口統計數據。如前所述，開放空間系統是為了讓各個地方相互連接，旨在促進步行，并改善雨水輸送路徑。這種設計理念充分體現了DesignWorkshop一體化方法的有效性。

社區花園|把社區花園和城市農場整合到社區規劃中，在美國正在逐漸流行。這樣的規劃可以吸引居民、扶持當地農場、促進經濟發展、創造鄰里/大社區交往互動的機會，并為各個年齡層的人提供受教育機會。（請參看圖14）

圖4 (fig.4)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopAcanallinedwithpoplarwindrowsrecallstheculturallandscapeofMormonpioneersandcreatesapopularwadingarea.Thecanalcarriesstormandlake-outfallwaterandleadstoaseriesofconstructedwetlandsthataerateandremovetoxinsfromthewater.兩旁排列著白楊樹的人工水渠使人想起摩門教拓荒者的文化景觀，并創造了一個受歡迎的淺水區。水渠將洪水和湖泊排出水引向一系列的可以凈化水質的人工濕地。

Daybreak現有的開放空間系統總共有六個社區花園，包含250多塊園地，可為目前3%左右的人口提供社區花園。這些花園承載著山谷或美國西部自給自足的傳統，教導居民在GreatBasin生態區內如何負責地建造景觀，事實證明，這些花園是如此的成功以至于開發商都被此激勵而計劃增加一些花園到那些原本沒有規劃社區花園的開放空間中去。未來的目標是提供足夠的社區花園以實現為社區10%的人口的自給。

藝術

最后一個Legacy范疇——藝術，可能是最難以衡量和量化的一個，因此，也是最難建立有效指標的一個。當藝術融入到景觀建筑設計中時，它的成功與否甚至變得更加復雜并且更加難以衡量。畢竟，一個人該如何去解釋一些東西是精巧的還是粗線條的，是公共的還是私人的，是因其聲明被而排斥的還是因其吸引力而被崇拜的，是被批判的還是被頌揚的，是冗余的還是精煉的，是短暫的還是永恒的？還有，到底該如何去衡量一個對主觀性和個人看法如此開放的事物呢？

任何關于如何“衡量”藝術或美學影響的討論都要從揭示定義開始。在這里的討論中，藝術被定義為空間吸引力——也就是那些可以為環境增加藝術價值的事物，它可以是公共場所、街道角落或是建筑立面。美學定義了一個事物的模樣。它是一種描述美和感受的方法。這兩者都包含了一定程度的主觀性；不過，評價藝術或美感的行為對項目是至關重要的，因為這種行為可以確立一系列觀點的范圍，構建出可解決基本問題（如：意義、持久性、創新性和可靠性）的框架。DWLegacyDesign?認為，有兩種方法論可運用于藝術衡量：定量法和定性法。定量指標是可計數的：項目包含的藝術作品的數量、包含的藝術博物館、表演藝術中心或策劃在項目里的公共藝術；是否有視覺藝術家參與合作過程，或者在設計中公開表演所用的場地是怎樣的。公眾對這些問題的反應對衡量結果是至關重要的。公眾是否參與公共藝術過程，或是否應邀對現有景觀的視覺質量進行評價，或是否應邀對擬定設計的質量作出評論？是否有一種合適的條件評估方法論，看看公眾是否樂意為公共藝術埋單并接受因景觀增加社區福利而帶來的責任？公共藝術是否為社區提供機會去討論藝術途徑和并決定表達對藝術價值看法的集體觀點？定性指標更模糊一些，認為“好”的藝術（被主觀定義為美麗、具有魅力或滿足公共需求）就可以吸引類似的元素。這些指標雖然無法確保最終結果的一致性，但確實更有可能使成功的美學因素或審美特征成為最終結果的一部分。（請參看圖15）

當用于實現某個特定效果時，由于依附在一些具有特性和特征的東西上，藝術，無論以何種形式出現，便成為了可以衡量的元素。而空間創造固有的智慧和情感內涵（包括創作理念、空間布局和運用的材料）便成為了展示窗口。測量方法可以適用于創作理念匯聚的方式上，包括應用美學和藝術本身固有的敘事性以及與藝術互動的社區健康度和人類安全感。如果藝術是通過提升社區文化和周圍環境的穩定性而成功地成為焦點，那么，藝術很有可能已在目的上獲得成功。存在于街道景觀的藝術作品的數量或者新社區內是否有表演藝術中心無疑是非常重要的，但是，比這一點更加重要的是藝術的質量可靠性。無論藝術采取何種形式，只要具備其重要性和獨特性，那么，藝術就已經達到了特定的效果，而且是可衡量的。

Daybreak社區的藝術指的是社區結構及其天然的美感。要獲得定量的證據證明這些元素的價值是極具挑戰性的；不過，從之前提到的Daybreak在經濟、環境和社區方面取得的成功可以感知到這些美學價值存在的證據。需要重申的是，這四個Legacy范疇之間存在顯而易見的關聯性，在其中任何一個范疇中達成的目標會對其他一個甚至所有范疇中的元素產生影響。

地域特異性|DesignWorkshop認為，在規劃和設計時把場地的地域特征考慮在內，將有助于把項目及其周圍的環境聯系起來。把區域特異性作為設計策略，要求對工作中所涉及的文化、環境和經濟體系有著透徹的理解。此外，這一設計策略也有助于把項目與其它地域的項目和經驗區分出來，使居民和訪客能夠深刻感受到他們與項目所在的場地和地域，以及當地居民的聯系。這種場所感和認同感能夠滲透到大到社區的區域或定義一個小到村莊或花園的區域。

對于Daybreak社區來說，設計意圖是使其景觀扎根于地域特征，并創建新的、可靠的、前瞻性的落基山脈景觀，在承認過去的同時也可以應對當今的環境挑戰并擁抱全新的美學形式。這些景觀以是對其自然和文化環境的一種有意識的藝術化表達。創新的幾何地形和磨舊的石籠墻是利用賓漢銅礦的回收廢石建成的，這一創新性設計表達了場地與區域遺產的聯系。這樣的地形讓人聯想到銅礦中廢石料形成幾何形斜坡，這一景觀成為了社區的背景簾幕，不過經過了鄉土觀賞草和植物群落的柔化得以舒緩。既然社區屬于人工建筑物，則無需試圖讓開放空間看起來“自然”或看起來像未損壞的自然。恰恰相反，項目的人工特性是有意識的透過種有節水植物的幾何形式而呈現的——自然與文化、環境與社區相融合，產生了一種新的美感，扎根于社區的環境背景和文化背景。與簡單的廢棄相反，整個景觀重新利用的回收廢石超過4.35萬噸（3950萬千克），在社區背后的山坡可以清楚的看到，這一設計策略加強了社區景觀和銅礦在顏色、肌理和地形上的聯系。鄉土植物（包括北美三齒苦樹、接骨木和Rabitbrush）把社區及其自然歷史聯系在一起，創造了一直延伸到山脈的生態廊道，重現了地域的原生植被模式。（請參看圖16）

HillsidePark展示了自然山麓和當地河流的雕刻景觀抽象概念。作為新建的奧克爾湖的排水口和曝氣渠，水運河可把水輸送到下游的人工濕地中。沿著運河的白楊讓人回想起早期摩門教拓荒者沿灌溉水渠種植的標志性樹種，而西方的作家華萊士·斯特格納則稱其為“摩門教景觀”。河岸的廊道為野生動植物提供棲息地，成為了一條繁茂的楊木長廊。水道也作為雨水輸送系統而通向滲濾池，可以將百年一遇的雨洪100%滲透到地下。

面向綜合發展

如前所述，DesignWorkshop相信，最引人入勝的的場所是那些把環境、經濟、社區與藝術融合在一起的地方。與之相關的是，公司的最高追求之一是證實這種信念的價值，并旨在通過績效型研究方法論來實現。這種方法論使得公司能夠對照項目的預期目標而衡量其工作的進度、執行力和質量。指標的透明度和相關性與預期結果有關，同時也致力于與其它選定目標一起綜合發展。

全面研究DesignWorkshop如何將其績效型方法論應用于猶他州SouthJordan的Daybreak社區的公園和開放空間系統，可以充分體現這種方法對該區域以及對公司自身的影響。這個項目的敘述可以為以下概念提供范例：景觀建筑實踐中的質量、嚴謹和責任性帶來的業績能夠滿足當今世界的需求和目標，同時也可為未來保留發展的機會。

無論是否如DesignWorkshop一樣以度量指標為核心，循證方法都是分析景觀規劃和建設工作的成敗以及從中吸取經驗的關鍵。采用這種方法的個人和公司都會發現，這種方法對其自身、項目甚至整個行業都極具價值并大有裨益。

圖5 (fig.5)CREDIT:D.A.Horchner/DesignWorkshopA stormwater inf ltration basin f lled with native grasses at the Daybreak Information Center celebrates the on-surface stormwater management infrastructure of the community. Walls created from recycled stone from Bingham Mine express the local mining heritage.在Daybreak信息中心長滿本地牧草的雨水滲透洼地強調并展示社區的表面雨水管理設施。從賓厄姆礦回收石材砌成的墻壁表達了當地的礦業遺產。

納塔利·格里洛在寫作、編輯和公共關系方面擁有超過10年的經驗。畢業于泰萊大學，在非營利性傳訊與公共關系領域開始其職業生涯，致力于制定、提煉和簡化各種營銷與通信計劃的附屬計劃。2005年進入DesignWorkshop工作，并在2013年前同時兼任許多項目的策劃與推廣?，F在，納塔利是一名自由作家，擅長與顧客或針對某個項目進行清晰、直接和恰當的溝通。

“The trap is always to enslave one set of skills and values to the other . DW Legacy Design?embraces broad and measurable goals across dif fering skill sets and value systems, and it takes on the challenge of a rational approach to design.”

Those words, from Design Workshop Chief Design Off cer Todd Johnson, speak to the enormity of the task those at Design Workshop have set out for themselves – to provide innovative, ever-evolving, all-inclusive design thinking and solutions that emerge from principles which have developed from years of practice.

A key to fulf lling this self-imposed mandate is to create designs that are evidence-based– design built around measurable targets and built upon acquired data that inform the f rm’s continually increasing knowledge base.

Following the maxim “what gets measured gets done,” Design W orkshop’s chosen research methodology is centered on metrics, enabling the firm to measure the efficiency, performance, progress, or quality of its work against a project’s intended goals. While fully cognizant that no list of measurement topics could wholly encompass the wide breadth and scope of all that is landscape architecture or even of the complexities and variances of just one specific project, Design W orkshop employs its metrics-based process on every project as both a checklist and an opportunity for discovery to help teams determine project goals and envision the benefits those accomplished goals will bring.iThese performance measures provide a baseline from which to start, but the outcome of each project is tailored to its unique circumstances

and objectives. On a given project, the real power of evidence and DW Legacy Design?relies on the transparency and the relevance of the metrics. They must be related to desired outcomes while also working in concert with the other chosen metrics.

The firm’s decision to focus on this research-based methodology is most concisely explained by Chairman Kurt Culbertson’s words in an early 2002 firm memo as this process was being established, “These metrics can become a common vocabulary against which to evaluate our progress.”iiThe firm believes that an evidence-based approach – whether centered around metrics like Design W orkshop’s or not – is the profession’s key both to monitoring success and shortfalls in planning and built work and to learning from them. (see f g. 1)

The Quadruple Bottom Line Approach

DW Legacy Design?is Design W orkshop’s comprehensive, evidence-based research and practice methodology based on four categories – the traditional elements of landscape architecture (art and environment)combined with what it believes are components of equal value: community and economics. The f rm’s philosophy of design in the context of these categories is:

Environment: Human existence depends on recognizing the value of natural systems and organizing its own activities to protect them. Design should fit purpose to the conditions of the land in ways that support future generations and drive value for the long term.

Economics: The flow of capital that is required to develop a project and the capital generated over its life de f nes economic viability. Design should seek to create longterm economic mechanisms that promote and protect the integrity of a place.

Community: Physical connections between people create the cultures of families,groups, towns, cities, and nations and are the foundation upon which they prosper .Design should organize these communities in order to nurture relationships and promote mutual tolerance.

Art: Aesthetics help def ne the real, distinct places that bring meaning to life and act as a restorative inf uence on the human spirit. Design should incorporate art to inspire and rejuvenate, boost economic value, support viability, and attract capital, thereby helping to ensure a project's longevity.

Design Workshop has always believed that the most compelling places are those where environment, economics, community, and art intersect. (The f rm refers to this as the quadruple-bottom-line.iii)Long before the f rm off cially def ned its DW Legacy Design?process in the late 1990s, team members were infusing these principles into project work. In the pages that follow, deeper explanations of the f rm’s perspective on each category will emerge, as will examples and the narrative about its process from one of its signature projects, Daybreak, a 4,126-acre (1,670-hectare)new community in South Jordan, Utah.

The story of Daybreak, highlighted here, speaks to the value and power of incorporating a research-based methodology into design work. This narrative describes ef forts such as exceptional methods employed for protecting and restoring the environment and the use of design and aesthetics to reinvigorate a community’s economy. These are good examples to advance the notion that excellence and rigor in the practice of landscape architecture and related disciplines can produce results that meet the needs and goals of today while preserving opportunities for tomorrow. Design Workshop notes that measurement in any of these categories contributes little to the success of our communities, our cultural life, and the f nancial and long-term stability and sustainability of our world if the metrics employed are completed in a vacuum. Design W orkshop believes the power of its methodology is due to its holistic fusion of all four categories.(see f g. 2 and f g. 3)

Environment

Regarding the environment as part of the design and planning process should be second nature to those in the design professions who shape the built environment. From Patrick Geddes and Ian McHarg to Anne Whiston Spirn and Charles Waldheim, leading thinkers in academic and professional landscape architecture practice have emphasized the need for design to take its cue from the surrounding natural environment and either create – or re-create – functional natural systems.

However it is more than just designers who are aware of the environment and humanity’s impact and dependence on it. Global warming and atmospheric changes have caused many people – political leaders, planners, architects, economists,environmentalists, and the general public – to think about the environment as more than just measures of sustainability, energy eff ciency, and emissions. Collectively, we now widely believe that we cannot use the earth’s natural resources without, at the same time, creating impacts on the ability of future generations to enjoy a quality of life equal to ours. This is true not only for non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels but also for renewable resources like air and water. In today’s world, environment is the primary concern upon which our collective future depends.

Design Workshop’s consideration of environmental impacts and goals in its design process is grounded in the idea that design solutions, to be truly measurable and meaningful, must be based, in part, on empirical, replicable scientific research and data. This means establishing metrics to monitor and model such things as energy use, building and landscape performance, and client use patterns over time. It means continually comparing and refining these factors so that landscapes, buildings,communities, cities, and even countries can lessen their impact on the environment and improve performance.

The term “environmental metrics” implies that measuring and comparing issues of air quality, stormwater quality and re-use, energy, wildlife habitat, noise pollution reduction,open space preservation or creation and many other quantitative elements are essential to the ultimate success of a project. Simply stated, however, a baseline establishes the existing condition of what is being measured and substantial data helps to identify a target performance for improvement. And while the metrics are typically quantitative rather than qualitative, they point to the inherent need in landscape architecture and community design for measurable results that indicate an awareness of the cause and effect of our actions on our surrounding natural environment.

The Daybreak Community, located just 25 miles (40 kilometers)from Utah’s capital, Salt Lake City, was carefully planned with both recognition of the cause-ef fect nature of our actions as well as with the intent to enrich present and future generations with a beautiful community, plentiful water, and clean air. The community’s developer, Kennecott Land,charged Design Workshop to create a framework of parks and open space for its new community, which is situated in a fragile, high-desert environment where conventional,water-intensive development and manicured terrains are neither sustainable nor desired. To meet local stormwater regulations and fit into the environmental context,the team designed Daybreak’s public parks and open space to be visually engaging yet environmentally sustainable.

Water | In any design discussion that incorporates environmental considerations, water use must be paramount. W ater is a constant in our everyday lives. It is the singlemost important human need we have: we need it to drink, cook and clean; we need it for sanitation and f re protection. We need it to live. And, as such, issues including stormwater management, regional water use, water use reduction, water conservation and/or wastewater technologies surround nearly every project.

Specifically with the Daybreak Community, the public landscapes were designed to shift the prevailing paradigm of greening the desert with extensive water use by demonstrating effective and eff cient ways to create beautiful and rich environments with responsible water use. (see f g. 4)

Since South Jordan’s average annual precipitation is just 18.18 inches (46.2 centimeters), water is a precious commodity at Daybreak.ivDesigners created a system that captures, cleans and infiltrates 100 percent of stormwater that falls on the site into the ground through a series of connected bio-swales, basins, and constructed wetlands including Oquirrh Lake (a 65-acre/26.3-hectare lake that is the community’s central organizing feature)during large storm events. The system reduces runof frelated pollution, prevents downstream f ooding, and helps to recharge the local aquifer.The design eliminates the need for any connections to the city’s municipal stormwater system. This is remarkable considering that most residential communities in Utah require the stormwater capture and in f ltration of a 10-year/24-hour storm. This means that in a 100-year storm event, the Daybreak Community is capturing and in f ltrating 44 percent more runoff than most other Utah communities. A secondary water system,connected to the regional canal network, supplies the entire open-space system and Oquirrh Lake with raw water for irrigation needs rather than using the municipality’s potable water. (see f g. 5)

It is worth noting that the benefits of Daybreak’s stormwater infrastructure alone are more than merely environmental. Engineers estimate over $70 million ($432 million Renminbi [RMB])in stormwater infrastructure savings over the life of the Daybreak project due to the elimination of municipal impact fees and the dramatic reduction in conventional conveyance infrastructure. This estimate includes $30 million ($185.1 RMB)in residential impact fees, residential entitlements by owner, and reduced inground infrastructure. Additionally, this infrastructure offers community benef t because it creates parks and gathering spaces as well as an aesthetic benef t because it creates a beautiful network of open spaces. These statistics illustrate the power of the integrated nature of Design Workshop’s design philosophy.

In addition to ef ficient stormwater management, Daybreak boasts of high water conservation rates. By using low-flow fixtures in each home, high-tech irrigation systems, and the installation of native drought-tolerant plants, Daybreak homes save an average of 5,206 gallons of water each month when measured against comparable homes in older neighborhoods.vAs of August 2009, the community’s 2,106 homes had saved over 41,000 gallons (155,202 liters)of water per home for a total of 79,759,877 gallons (301.9 million liters)saved.vi

Native and Water-wise Planting | The benef ts of re-introducing native or water-wise plants to a given landscape are many. These plants can help meet the needs of native wildlife (such as habitat and food)without causing long-term damage to local plant communities. They help prevent the introduction of invasive, exotic plants into a region.And, native plants generally grow well, require fewer pesticides, and – as mentioned above – need less water.vii(see f g. 6 )

Design Workshop chose native plants including bitterbrush (Purshia tridentate),elderberry (Sambucus), and rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)to connect Daybreak to its natural history, including wildlife corridors that run to the mountains and vegetative patterns of the area. With Founders V illage, the first village completed within the community, 72 percent of the parks and open space system is native or water-wise plant material. (Irrigated turf was limited to required active play f elds.)

Overall the incorporation of native and water-wise plants into the landscape has been beneficial in that it has conserved large volumes of water, as explained above, and has provided habitat for fish, small mammals, and waterfowl that annually traverse the Great Salt Lake migratory bird f yaway. The Audubon Society of Utah has been watching bird species since the construction of the lake and its wetlands. To date, they have documented and identif ed over 100 species of birds at the lake.

Along with the benef ts of using native and water-wise plants, Design Workshop learned a few important lessons at Daybreak that it has since incorporated into the design of future Daybreak villages as well as into more recent projects (Lowry Development, a 1,848-acre [747.9-hectare]former U.S. Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado and Blue Hole Regional Park, a 126-acre [51-hectare]nature preserve in Wimberley, Texas). The Design Workshop team found cultural acceptance of native grasses by homeowners and prospective buyers to be challenging because the grasses can appear to be weedy and unkempt until the meadows begin to mature and re-seed themselves, a process which typically takes several seasons. In addition, the design team learned that residents accept and understand the intent of the native meadows and plantings much more readily when the native landscape is framed with a more traditional, manicured landscape. A simple two-foot (0.6-meter)lawn swath next to a path that transitioned into large tracts of native planting frames the meadow and signif es the intentional nature of the meadow creation and is understood by a much wider audience. In addition, the design team learned that if a more native landscape was installed prior to the selling of lots or building of homes, the future homeowners were more able to accept it than if planting were installed after a resident bought a home. (see f g. 7)

Carbon Footprint | Much has been made of late regarding reducing development’s carbon footprint. It has been proven that large carbon footprints have harmful ef fects on the environment – including climate change, the depletion of resources, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. The best methods of reducing carbon footprints include reducing consumption, recycling waste, and reusing materials.viii

Design Workshop helped the Daybreak Community reduce its carbon footprint by decreasing the need for motorized transportation. The open space system was designed to be located within a five-minute (or 0.25-mile/0.4-kilometer)walk from every home. The system then contains trails, pathways, and links to all major community destinations such as schools, churches, village centers, and light-rail stations. These walkable neighborhoods have caused 88 percent of Daybreak students to walk to school, compared to 17 percent in surrounding, less-walkable neighborhoods.ixThere are 22 miles (35.4 kilometers)of trails throughout the community, and the developers have plans to create many more in future villages.These efforts have so far kept a total of 8,505.6 tons (7.7 million kilograms)of carbon from entering the atmosphere (which is akin to saving what would have been the impact of 177 standard U.S. households).x(see f g. 8)

Another way Design Workshop helped Daybreak reduce its carbon footprint is through recycling and reuse of existing materials. Builders and contractors recycled more than three fourths of their construction waste. And 43,500 tons (39.5 million kilograms)of waste rock from the adjacent Bingham Copper Mine has been utilized in walls and gabion baskets within the parks and open space system. The gabion walls have become an iconic element in the Daybreak landscape. They are used throughout the community for many dif ferent purposes and help tie the aesthetic to the site and its connection to the Bingham Copper Mine.

Economics

Evidence of economic success in the marketplace is typically obvious if balance sheets and basic economic principles are the sole points of measurement. For example, if the expected outcome of an endeavor is positive (meaning that the numbers add up to favor even the most pragmatic of investors), then the bottom line should equal a net prof t. Economic measurement is our most familiar and well-tested system of metrics. In real estate development projects, Return on investment (ROI)is a popular performance measure because of its versatility and simplicity. It is used to evaluate the ef f ciency of an investment or to compare the ef f ciency of a number of dif ferent investments. If an investment does not have a positive ROI, or if there are other opportunities with a higher ROI, then intuitively, the investment should not be undertaken.

The precision needed to establish economic feasibility and impact starts at the beginning of a project with the determination of an intended result. Once this is in place, the critical questions are developed and the metrics – clear and accepted standards and guidelines for what constitutes “credible evidence” – are established so that successes and failures may be documented, shared, and either built upon or, conversely, not repeated.However, for many companies, true success is no longer measured by focusing on the bottom line of f nancial performance alone. It now also includes measuring social and cultural ramif cations, environmental impacts, and quality of life indicators. In landscape architecture, design, and planning, this quadruple-bottom-line approach is the key to establishing evidence and points for measurement. Without guidelines in place for each of these categories, developers and landscape architects are hard-pressed to measure outcomes and establish proof of success or failure.

The guidelines established and the outcomes measured at the Daybreak Community illustrate the effectiveness of this approach. The financial returns to the developer and the region have been profound and, as with all Design W orkshop projects, these positive financial results were strengthened by the fusion of economic viability with environmental acuity, community collaboration, and aesthetic identity. Once again,the real power of evidence relies on the transparency of the metrics and their ability to coincide with one another.

Environmental Conservation | Increasingly, sustainability efforts are proving to benef t more than just the planet, but people and prof ts as well. And, for a development project,when the value of resources conserved or restored exceeds the value of the resources expended, the project is a f nancial success.

Such is the case for Daybreak. Many established sustainability initiatives have contributed to the enormous financial success of the community. As previously mentioned, the use of on-surface stormwater management systems eliminated stormwater impact fees and greatly reduced underground piping, infrastructure and maintenance, saving an estimated $70 million ($432 million RMB). Also, over $1.6 million ($9.9 million RMB)in concrete and transportation costs have been saved by recycling construction waste and reusing materials onsite.

In addition, as all homes built at Daybreak are required to be Energy Star?-rated,homeowners are already saving an average of up to $400 ($2,466 RMB)on utility costs annually.xi

Return on Investment (ROI)| The target ROI for each project takes into consideration the nature of the local market, other investment opportunities, the risk in the project, and the attitude of the investor(s). The goal is for the developers/investors to make more money than they invested.

Daybreak’s parks and open-space system has created value in the community for the land owner, homeowners, and future tenants and has provided enormous ROI to the developer. With $67.3 million ($414.9 million RMB)spent to date for design,consultation, and construction costs, Daybreak has been the top-selling new home community in Utah since 2009; one in five new homes sold in Salt Lake County is located in Daybreak. Also in 2009, Daybreak was ranked as the sixth best-selling master-planned community in the entire United States. The developer’s commitment to have all homes close to parks or open space has paid off: one-third of all homes face open space and thereby command premium prices and resale values of greater than 10 percent over other locations.xii(see f g. 9)

Employment | Part of the success of any new community development is how many jobs and how much revenue the development brings to a region.

Daybreak has been planned to create 20,000 new jobs by full build-out. The regional light rail system has just been extended into Daybreak’s planned town center and development of the f rst commercial buildings (such as the new South Jordan Medical Center complete with 24-hour emergency room, primary care facilities and medical off ces, Rio Tinto Regional Center [Headquarters to Kennecott Utah Copper – Utah’s largest private economic driver], and many small retailers at SoDa Row)are just being

completed. The Town Center will eventually be home to corporate of f ce headquarters,a regional full-service hospital, regional retail destinations, urban townhomes,condominiums and apartments, and perhaps, a university campus. Daybreak’s design and layout has drawn these entities into the community and will bring numerous jobs to the region.

Community

The modern and decentralized American city – where housing is geographically separated from the workplace by great distances – created an entire nation reliant upon the automobile. Communities were fractured, social interaction was curtailed, physical health declined, and lack of public investment in central parts of cities resulted in a complete abandonment and cessation of the traditional city center.

To overcome this relational and physical breakdown, planners, designers, and developers are now creating places that encourage a dif ferent quality of life through physical activity; sustainable design; and the creation of public spaces and communities connected by trails, open space, and gathering areas. Designing these elements into new community plans can play a signif cant role in elevating the positions of community and the ways in which people interact with one another – thus reversing declines in public health, urban sprawl, auto-centric and auto-dependent neighborhoods, and environmental degradation.

Urban streetscapes – designed here to be pedestrian friendly and to create connections between residential neighborhoods and parklands – have proven to generate positive health impacts on residents. An increase in daily activity levels brings about decreases in obesity and the onset of diseases related to inactivity. In addition, neighborhood green space reduces crime and increases the sense of safety in a community. It also creates the potential for a more socially sustainable, cohesive community that can improve social capital and civic engagement. On a global level, urban green spaces help conserve natural ecosystem functions by improving air quality, protecting watersheds,and connecting wildlife habitats. The increases in tree cover, green roofs, and native vegetation can help reduce urban heat island ef fect, thereby reducing energy demands and fuels consumption which, in turn, creates greenhouse gasses. Added vegetation also acts as a carbon sink, reducing carbon dioxide levels. Green streets get people out of their cars and out on their feet and bicycles. (see f g. 10)

Performance-based measurements that relate directly to the improvement of the community, both physically and spiritually, are interchangeable with environmental,economic, and aesthetic standards. And, as evidenced by the examples that follow from the Daybreak Community, measurement lies at the heart of a desire to provide locations and opportunities for people to interact. This is accomplished by observing the ways in which a community integrates its multiple human networks, the methods in which design elevates these networks and intersections at places in the community, and the means by which people interact with one another and their environment in these spaces.

Walkability | To combat a community’s reliance on the automobile, developers and designers now strive to create locations that embrace and celebrate pedestrian mobility.Walkable neighborhoods provide so much more than the environmental benefit of reducing vehicle emissions. They have been proven to advance the physical health of residents and to increase social interaction among neighbors. (see f g. 11)

While it has already been noted that the Daybreak Community’s walkable neighborhoods (where amenities are within a 0.25-mile/0.4-kilometer walk from every home)have provided enormous environmental advantage, the community benefits are notable as well. Daybreak’s walkable design encourages face-to-face interaction and connects residents with each other; in addition, the extensive trail system links neighborhoods to schools, churches, community centers, and nearby Oquirrh Lake. In 2010, a report noted that 88 percent of Daybreak students walk to school, compared to 17 percent in surrounding, less-walkable neighborhoods. While no data currently exists to prove the health benef t specif c to Daybreak’s walkable neighborhoods, it is accepted that the benefits of walkability are best guaranteed if the entire system (and not just certain specialized routes)of public corridors is walkable, which is something certainly true of the Daybreak Community.xiiiAs this development matures in years to come,Design Workshop hopes to have more substantial documentation and quantifiable evidence to support the specif c health impacts of Daybreak’s walkable design.

Open Space | The value provided by urban open space is substantial. Ecologically,open space offers a home for natural species in environments that are otherwise uninhabitable due to city development. Aesthetically, the benef t is obvious – open space supplies beauty and respite to an otherwise gray landscape. And, recreationally, open space provides opportunities for active and passive pursuits and for interaction among neighbors. (see f g. 12 and f g. 13)

Public landscapes form the backbone of the social and cultural systems at Daybreak. Of the 4,100 acres (1,659 hectares)in the entire development, up to 1,000 acres (404.7 hectares)are planned for parks and open space. Each component of the system, including the more than 22 miles (35.4 kilometers)of passive trails,recreational water features, active sporting activities, performance space, and native demonstration gardens, is carefully designed and programmed to play a specific role in community life and sized and located to appropriately serve the demographics of each specif c Daybreak village. As mentioned previously, the open space network was planned to be interconnected, intentionally promoting walkability and stormwater conveyance routes. This design concept illustrates the effectiveness of Design Workshop’s integrated approach.

Community Gardens | Community gardens and urban farms integrated into community plans are gaining ground in the United States. Such plans attract residents, support local farms, provide economic development, create opportunities for neighbor/broad community interaction, and provide educational opportunities for people of all ages. (see f g. 14)

Within Daybreak’s current open space network, there are six community gardens with over 250 individual garden plots that provide community gardens for approximately 3 percent of the current population. The gardens, carrying on a tradition of self-suff ciency in the mountain valleys or the W estern United States and teaching residents about responsible landscape methods within the Great Basin ecology, have proved to be so successful that the developer was prompted to insert additional gardens into open space areas where they had not been originally planned. Future goals are to provide enough community gardens to support up to 10 percent of the community’s population.

Art

The f nal Legacy category, Art, may be the most dif f cult one to measure and quantify and therefore, the most dif ficult category for which to create ef fective metrics. When art is applied within landscape architecture, its success becomes even more complex and diff cult to measure. After all, how does one explain something which is subtle or bold, public or private, ostracized for its statement or adored for its appeal, criticized or celebrated, excessive or re f ned, transitory or timeless? In addition, how does one measure the value of something so open to subjectivity and opinion?

Any discussion about “measuring” the impacts of art or aesthetics must begin with a disclosure of def nitions. For this discussion, art is de f ned as a dimensional attraction– something that adds artistic value to an environment, whether a public space, a street corner, or a building fa?ade. Aesthetics def ne how things look. It is a method for characterizing beauty and feeling. Both include some level of subjectivity; however, the very act of evaluating art or aesthetics is vital to a project because it establishes a range of opinions that launch a framework for addressing basic questions such as meaning,permanence, innovation, and authenticity. DW Legacy Design?suggests that two methodologies can be applied to measuring art: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative metrics are those which can be counted: the numbers of art pieces included in a project,the inclusion of an art museum, performing arts center, or public arts programming in a project; whether a visual artist was engaged in a collaborative process; or what venues for public performance are included in the design. Public reaction to these issues is vital to measuring outcomes. W as the public engaged in the public art process, or asked to assess the visual quality of an existing landscape or to comment on the quality of a proposed design? Is there a contingent valuation methodology in place that addresses the public’s willingness to pay for public art and accept the responsibility that comes with adding community benefit to a landscape? Does public art foster opportunity for a community to discuss and determine its approach to art or its collective idea of art’s value? Qualitative metrics are a bit more nebulous, suggesting that “good” art(subjectively def ned as beautiful, charismatic, or ful f lling a communal need)attracts similar components. While such measures don’t ensure a consistent end result, they do increase the chances that a successful aesthetic component or identity will be a part of the end result. (see f g. 15)

When used to achieve a speci f c outcome, art, in any form, becomes measurable because it is attached to something with identity and character. The intellectual and emotional content inherent in the creation of a space – from the compositional idea to the spatial layout to the materials used – becomes a showcase. Measurement can be applied to the manner in which these ideas converge, including the applied aesthetics and narrative qualities inherent in the art itself, and the health and human safety of the community that interacts with the art.If art becomes a successful focal point by elevating the community culture and stability of the surrounding environment, then it has probably succeeded in intent. The number of art pieces present in a streetscape or the existence of a performing arts center in a new community is no doubt important, but far more essential to this discussion is the qualitative authenticity of the art. If art – in whatever form it takes – adds signi f cance and distinction, then it has achieved a specif c outcome and it can be measured.

The Daybreak Community’s art is the community structure and its native aesthetic.Quantitative evidence of the value of these elements is challenging to obtain; however,proof of their aesthetic value can be perceived from the community’s economic,environmental, and community successes, as have been discussed earlier. The obvious correlation is that, once again, achieved targets in any of the four Legacy categories will produce impacts and affect elements in some or all of the remaining categories.

Site Specif city | Design Workshop feels that taking the site’s location into account while planning and designing helps link a project to its surroundings. Using site specificity as a design strategy requires a thorough understanding of the cultural, environmental,and economic systems at work. In addition, it helps dif ferentiate the project from other locations and experiences, allowing residents and visitors to feel deeply connected to the site and also to the region in which it sits and the people who live there. This sense of place and identity can imbue an area as large as a region or de f ne an area as small as a village or garden.

For the Daybreak Community, the design intent was to root the landscape within its region and create a new authentic, forward-thinking, Rocky Mountain landscape that acknowledges the past while it meets the environmental challenges of today and embraces fresh aesthetic forms. The landscapes are intentional, artistic expressions of their natural and cultural context. Innovative, geometric landforms and battered gabion walls constructed of reclaimed waste rock from the Bingham Mine express connections to the region’s heritage. The forms recall the geometrical waste rock slopes of the mine that is the backdrop to the community but are softened by native grasses and plant communities. Since the community is a man-made construction, no attempt was made to make the open space look “natural” or like unspoiled nature. Rather the manmade nature of the project was celebrated through intention, geometric forms that were planted with water-wise plants – nature AND culture, environment AND community were fused to create a new aesthetic rooted in the environmental and cultural context of the community. Instead of going to waste, over 43,500 tons (39.5 million kilograms)of recycled mine rock were re-used throughout the landscape. This reinforces connections to the mine through the color, texture and forms that can be seen on the hillsides behind the community. Native plants including bitterbrush, elderberry, and rabbitbrush connect the community to its natural history and create wildlife corridors that run to the mountains and replicate native the region’s vegetative patterns. (see f g. 16)

Hillside Park offers a sculpted landscape abstraction of natural foothill forms and vernacular water courses. The water canal serves as an outfall and aeration channel for newly constructed Oquirrh Lake and carries water to the constructed wetlands below. Poplar windrows along the canal recall the iconic early Mormon pioneer tree plantings along irrigation ditches that W estern writer Wallace Stegner dubbed “The Mormon Landscape.” The riparian corridor fosters wildlife habitat and supports a growing cottonwood gallery. Water courses also serve as a storm water conveyance system leading to infiltration basins where 100 percent of a 100-year storm is inf ltrated into the ground.

Toward Synthesis

As previously mentioned, Design W orkshop believes that the most compelling places are those where environment, economics, community, and art intersect. And, relatedly,one of the f rm’s highest pursuits has been to prove the value of this belief, which it has aimed to do through a performance-based research methodology. This methodology allows the firm to gauge the progress, execution, and quality of its work against a project’s intended goals. The transparency and relevance of the metrics relate to desired outcomes while they also work toward synthesis with the other chosen objectives.

A comprehensive look into how Design W orkshop employed its performance-based methodology into the parks and open space network of South Jordan, Utah’s Daybreak Community, illustrates the impact of this process on the region as well as on the f rm itself. The project’s narrative provides examples to advance the notion that quality, rigor,and accountability in the practice of landscape architecture will generate results that meet today’s needs and goals while preserving opportunities for tomorrow.

Whether centered around metrics like Design W orkshop’s or not, an evidencebased approach is landscape architecture’s key to analyzing and to learning from accomplishments and failures in planning and built work. Individuals and firms who undertake this approach will discover value and great benefit to themselves, their projects and the profession overall.

Notes

i As Atul Gawande explains in his 2009 book The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, published by Picador,“[Checklists]not only offer the possibility of verif i cation but also instill a kind of discipline of higher performance” (p 36)and “Checklists…established a higher standard of baseline performance” (pg 39). Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. New York, New York: Picador, 2009.

ii Kurt Culbertson. Memo to Design Workshop Staff. “Metrics for Sustainability,” January 6, 2002.

iii This quadruple-bottom-line approach is an expansion of triple-bottom-line (TBL)accounting, a phrase fi rst coined by Freer Spreckley in the 1981 publication ‘Social Audit – A Management Took for Co-operative Working’ which expands traditional reporting to include environmental and social performance in addition to fi nancial performance.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line. [accessed May 15, 2013].

iv http://www.usa.com/south-jordan-ut-weather.htm [accessed June 15, 2013].

v “The results of a sustained effort.” http://www.daybreakutah.com/why/sustainability/learn-more [accessed May 12, 2013].

vi “Daybreak Environmentally Friendly Real Estate, But How?” http://inside-real-estate.com/leeyoungblood/2009/08/19/daybreak-environmentally-friendly-real-estate-but-how/ [accessed May 12, 2013].

vii “Benef i ts of Going Native.” http://www.ncsu.edu/goingnative/whygo/benef i ts.html [accessed May 12, 2013].

viii “Carbon Footprint.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint [accessed May 12, 2013].

ix If you build it, will they walk to school? http://daybreak-beta.location3.com/if-you-build-it-will-they-walk-to-school[accessed June 16, 2012].

x The average U.S. household’s carbon footprint is 48 tons of carbon dioxide per year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint [accessed May 12, 2013].

xi Geoffrey J. Booth. “The Sustainability Dividend: Environmental Science delivers Kennecott Land a competitive advantage.” Developer Magazine, 26-32.

xii Ibid.

xiii “Walkability.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkability [accessed May 10, 2013].

About the author:

Natalie Grillo has over 10 years’ experience in writing, editing and public relations. A graduate of Taylor University,she began her career in non-pro f t communications and public relations, working speci f cally to create, ref ne and streamline all marketing and communications program collateral. In 2005, she accepted a position with Design Workshop where she served, in part, as both writer and editor on a variety of projects until 2013. Now a freelance writer, Natalie excels in clear, direct and appropriate communication for a given audience or project.