A Parametric Reflection Model for Design Tools in Landscape Architecture

Abstract

Tools are not neutral instruments in landscape-architectural design: they shape how ideas
emerge, how decisions are structured, and what solutions become thinkable. While analogue
sketches remain central to early ideation, the growing diversity of digital and physical-digital
methods raises the question of how these instruments are perceived, weighted and reflected
upon in practice.
This paper introduces and tests a Parametric Reflection Model (PRM) as a pilot instrument for
operationalising perceived tool influence in landscape-architectural workflows. Drawing on
Schön's concept of reflection-in-action and Gänshirt's cyclical model of design, the PRM
encodes tool influence via sphere diameter and everyday familiarity via Z-position within a
three-dimensional spatial interface. Two expert case studies and an extended practitioner
survey (n = 17) demonstrate a consistent tool hierarchy: digital and analogue drawing
dominate early design phases, digital models gain strategic relevance, physical-digital tools
remain marginal. Reflection ratings reveal a functional divide: analogue sketches support
creative exploration, digital drawings and models support efficiency and communication.
Generative AI tools are excluded on methodological grounds, as their output stochasticity is
incompatible with the PRM's comparative parameter logic. The study contributes a first tested
iteration of the PRM as a reflective instrument for design practice and research.