Mark Lindquist joined EVDS in Fall 2013 as the first dedicated position in landscape architecture since the 1980s. His background combines research, teaching, professional work and publications, and experience in several countries including Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. His research investigates the impact of digital media in general, and 3D visualization in particular, on the design and perception of environments.
Since 2009 his research has focused on multisensory spatial perception, operating at the intersection of computer science, environmental psychology, landscape architecture, soundscape and visualization, and has been widely disseminated in award-winning international research and professional publications. Mark’s research and professional work has, as one aim, the goal of widening participation of underrepresented stakeholders in the design and planning process through the innovative use of digital technology.
“The ability to effectively communicate real or proposed environments to a broad segment of the population allows for democratic input on decisions made by a few people that affect many people” states Lindquist. “Research has shown that three and four-dimensional digital visualizations offer many advantages over traditional methods of spatial representation, particularly when communicating complex spatial arrangements to non-designers.”
His research on affordable immersive environments provides the framework for widespread adoption and use of immersive visualization beyond the research lab, applied in the real-world for public participation in design and planning decision-making.
In addition to his applied research, Lindquist is also exploring novel approaches to environmental simulation for landscape planning and design. Moving beyond purely visual-based methods, he is exploring ways to incorporate multisensory stimuli, specifically sound, in the design and evaluation of proposed future environments. “Purely visual approaches to public participation for design and planning have been criticized, as have top-down, expert lead approaches.”
Lindquist’s research uses empirical methods to evaluate and assess the impact of multimodal sensory stimuli on spatial perception, and he has coordinated workshops internationally to facilitate the inclusion of underrepresented and marginalized populations in spatial decision-making processes. He has an upcoming chapter in the Springer publication Innovative Technologies in Urban Mapping: Built and Mental Space titled “Sensory Aspects of Simulation and Representation In Landscape and Environmental Planning: A Soundscape Perspective” (co-authored with Professor Eckart Lange at the University of Sheffield) which explores concepts of multisensory landscape experience for design and planning.
Mark Lindquist is returning to Canada after a decade abroad and is eager to continue his research and teaching within the academic context of Environmental Design and the University of Calgary, as well as, the city and region.
To view more EVDS faculty research, click here.